Movie Review: Criminal (2016)

Genre: Action Thriller  

Director: Ariel Vromen  

Starring: Kevin Costner, Gal Gadot, Gary Oldman, Ryan Reynolds, Tommy Lee Jones  

Running Time: 109 minutes  

Synopsis: In London, CIA Agent Bill Pope (Ryan Reynolds) is the only person who knows the location of a hacker who has seized control of military secrets. When Pope is killed, the CIA's London chief Quaker Wells (Gary Oldman) authorizes Dr. Franks (Tommy Lee Jones) to transplant Pope's memories into the brain of hardened criminal Jerico (Kevin Costner). Jerico has to grapple with Pope's recollections intruding on his consciousness as he meets Pope's wife Jill (Gal Gadot) and tangles with evil anarchist Xavier Heimdahl, who is also eager to find the hacker. 

What Works Well: This B-movie enjoys an A-list cast, and although the contributions of Tommy Lee Jones (wasted) and Ryan Reynolds (dispatched early) are limited, Kevin Costner is given a complex role to navigate. Jerico starts out as an empathy-free convict (the result of childhood abuse), but the insertion of another man's thoughts awakens him to a new world of emotions, and his quiet interactions with Gal Gadot yield the best moments. Elsewhere director Ariel Vromen keeps the pacing brisk and the action scenes coherent.

What Does Not Work As Well: The premise is built on not one but two far-fetched ideas: memory transplants and a hacker gaining full control of a superpower's military capabilities through a dark web "wormhole". From there the action layers on enough improbabilities and logic gaps to sink a fleet. Gary Oldman fares worst among the many stars on display, flailing his arms and foaming at the mouth as his character makes one bad decision after another.

Conclusion: The polished veneer activates brainless enjoyment.

All Ace Black Movie Blog reviews are here.