Sometime in the past 10 years, Mark Wahlberg went from Mark Wahlberg, human, to Mark Wahlberg, Character. It was an imperceptible switch at the time, but one that now makes me think that whenever I’m watching a Wahlberg film I’m actually just watching a documentary crew capture his day-to-day fights, set-ups, and cons.

I wouldn’t be surprised if one day I heard that he was wanted for jewel smuggling, because that’s who Mark Wahlberg, human, has become: Mark Wahlberg, Character. I can’t differentiate between the two, nor do I want to. I would watch Wahlberg eat breakfast if it meant he’d eventually destroy that bowl of cereal with one swift punch. Wahlberg’s latest film, Contraband, follows the same basic plot as those that have come before: someone was wronged, and Chris Farraday (Wahlberg) has to right that wrong. In this case it’s his brother-in-law Andy (Caleb Landry Jones), who owes a local hood (Giovanni Ribisi) for a drug-deal gone south. Farraday comes to Andy’s rescue by agreeing to return to his smuggling days, despite the reservations of his wife (Kate Beckinsale). I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that Mark Wahlberg, human, would do this exact same thing, but probably with less makeup.

Cue Wahlberg Sequence: assembling the crew, greasing the wheels, packing his bag. Before we know it, he’s found himself on a tanker headed from New Orleans to Panama, with enough seed money to buy millions in counterfeit bills.

Contraband includes all the major Wahlberg food groups (guns, theft, and wolves), and throws in some international deception for people who somehow aren’t impressed by guns, theft, and wolves. A brain-bender, this is not. It’s a straight-forward plot, mixed with a touch of betrayal.

As the film bounced back and forth across the Gulf of Mexico, it was refreshing to watch a New Orleans-set movie that didn’t fall back on the clichés of the Big Easy (see how easy it is?). Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur allowed the seedy side of New Orleans to slowly burn, focusing more on the people in the setting than the setting around the people. Supporting roles by Ribisi, Ben Foster and J.K. Simmons give Contraband less of a shoot-em-up edge than previous films from the School of Wahlberg, providing a depth that most of his co-stars have lacked in the past.

Really, though, I could’ve left that whole last paragraph out of this review. This is a film about Mark Wahlberg, Character, punching people, leaving Panamanian drug lords for dead on the side of a road, and defending his family’s honor. Because what else is there?