This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
That "Criminal" requires an immediate suspension of disbelief is a given. But to enjoy this film, your brain has to be in neutral for nearly two hours.
You've to accept that when, 10 minutes or so into the film, CIA operative Billy Pope (Ryan Reynolds) is tortured and murdered, a kindly ol' doctor (Tommy Lee Jones) is able to take his memories and impress them into the damaged brain of prison convict Jericho Stewart (Kevin Costner) — a guy who can't distinguish right from wrong and, as a result, hideously beats and murders innocent bystanders.
This is to retrieve information to stop a terrorist plot, of course.
That conceit, by itself, is not enough to sink "Criminal." But throw in an incompetent CIA station chief (Gary Oldman); a series of CIA operatives who do extraordinarily dumb things — getting many of them killed; a truly unbelievable and often idiotic villain (Jordi Molla) — a Spanish anarchist, of all things; a supposedly brilliant-yet-dumb computer hacker (Michael Pitt); and the sudden appearance of outmatched Russian bad guys, and even some decent (but incredibly violent and sadistic) action sequences can't do much to redeem this ill-conceived movie.
Director Ariel Vroman can't resist having Costner look into a mirror and see Reynolds at one point, one of many unintentional laugh-out-loud moments.
What definitely doesn't redeem "Criminal" is when antisocial killer Jericho becomes the protector of Billy's widow (Gal Gadot) and daughter (Lara Decaro), which leads to a sappy ending that is predictable and ridiculous.
This movie really is "Criminal," as it turns out.
Twitter: @ScottDPierce H
'Criminal'
Giving dead spy's memories to psychotic killer isn't the dumbest part of this movie.
Where • Theaters everywhere.
When • Opens Friday, April 15.
Rating • R for language and violence.
Running time • 113 minutes.