Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
CIA Agent Bill Pope is on a mission to track down a shadowy hacker named 'The Dutchman'. When he gets mysteriously killed, an experimental procedure transfers his memories into a dangerous ex-convict. When he wakes up Pope's memories, his mission is to eliminate The Dutchman before the hacker launches ICBMs and starts World War III.
Criminal (2016) blends a memory-implant sci-fi premise with a gritty action-thriller, which gives it some novelty points for its concept even if execution is uneven. The plot is serviceable but riddled with conveniences and logic gaps typical of mid-tier action fare. The ensemble cast (Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones, Ryan Reynolds) elevates the material above what it deserves on paper, with Costner's gruff performance as the convict being a genuine highlight. Cinematography is functional but unremarkable, leaning on London locations without doing much that's visually distinctive. The ending wraps up predictably and without much emotional payoff, squandering the potential of its central premise.