Criminal (2016)

Genre: Action / Thriller

Directed by: Ariel Vromen

Cast: Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones

Running time: 113 minutes

After one of their agents, Bill Pope, gets tortured and killed on duty while trying to stop a Spanish industrialist from getting some nuclear bypass codes from a hacker known as The Dutchman, the CIA decides to ask Dr. Micah Franks if Pope’s memories can be transplanted into a living being so The Dutchman can be located and the codes secured. Franks says it can be done and chooses violent convict Jerico Stewart as the perfect candidate, because of the effects of some childhood trauma on his brain.

This film was trashed by critics, but I liked it. To me, it was heavily carried by Kevin Costner’s performance. I’ve never been one of his biggest fans, but it was something different from him here, and he did a good job of it. The story was a bit convoluted and required a huge suspension of disbeliefs, and some of the acting was over the top, but, for some reason, I could not help get invested in the characters and their fate. I was entertained.

Rating: «««