Review of Criminal (2016) by Orlando O — 02 Aug 2016

Criminal is the action thriller with a forgettable plot, undeveloped characters, and dull action thrills. The script does borrow some elements like it is trying to be its own Bourne movie or mixing up with the spy genre. Criminal is nothing new and the action scenes are boring than entertaining.

There is a variety of talented cast in the film, some with big roles, and some with brief moments. Ryan Reynolds playing Bill Pope, an agent that is supposed to meet his contact, who is an hacker that created some sort of wormhole program to launch nuclear weapons. Pope is not the only one after him, when there is Xavier (Jordi Molla) and his henchmen that capture Bill. Bill does not reveal where the hacker is, and is killed by the bad guys. The CIA lost there leads and clues on where the hacker can be. Until, they decide to use this memory transfer device, and bring in a convict Jericho (Kevin Costner) to transfer Popes memories into his mind. Jericho then, traces clues back to where the hacker can be, while Xavier is on his trail.

Kevin Costner plays the unlikable character, you can ever see. Even in the end, it is hard to believe his character is good in a way. He is one criminal, that can go ballistic at any given minute, he rudely cuts people in lines, punches a guy randomly in the face, steals, and even will do whatever it takes to get what he wants, even if it kills the law enforcement. The script misses out on the opportunities of developing these characters. Even Pope's wife Jill (Gal Gadot), she meets Jericho after he breaks into her house and ties her up and steals from her. Jericho has flashes of memories of Jill, they eventually will bond with each other. All it takes is a villain to kidnap Jill and her daughter that puts Jericho on a vengeance spree on getting them back. These characters are all hollow, its difficult to care and make it worth watching. Then, there is Gary Oldman playing the CIA supervisor, who shows up, either chasing Jericho or on the hunt for the terrorists. Tommy Lee Jones playing the neurosurgeon, who is monitoring Jericho and his progression with the memories transfer. Even Alice Eve, playing an agent with barely anything to do besides be there when a chase scene happens. All these talented actors are all great. But with very little to do and show up as a scene-stealer.

Criminals is a bad action thriller, the action sequences are not entertaining, plot is clichéd, and the script is undeveloped.