Looking at Kevin Costner’s filmography and you would probably agree it’s been little hit and miss, sometimes producing some real gems of film. I never thought Field of Dreams would have been a film I would have enjoyed but I certainly did. The film I’m looking at in this review is an action thriller from 2016 that boasts an all-star cast. So without further ado here’s my Criminal Blu-ray review.
- Criminal (2016)
- Genre: Action, Thriller
- Written by Douglas Cook & David Weisberg
- UK Rating 15
- Discs: 1
- Released By Lionsgate
- Blu-ray Released: 15 August 2016
- Starring Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones, Alice Eve, Gal Gadot, Michael Pitt, Jordi Mollà, Antje Traue, Scott Adkins, Amaury Nolasco, Ryan Reynolds
Plot
CIA operative Bill Pope knows the whereabouts of a key person of interest, the only problem is he himself is being hunted for that very information. When the CIA find Bill Pope near to death any chance of retrieving his vital knowledge seems to be lost.
That is until they draft in Dr. Micah Franks (Tommy Lee Jones) whom is working on a way to transplant a person’s memories into another person. With time running out for Pope they decide to proceed with the memory transplant. Choosing the recipient they turn to a criminal named Jerico who does not have any feelings of right or wrong due to frontal lobe damage when he was younger.
Make no mistake this means Jerico is an extremely violent and dangerous individual.
The CIA hope Jerico can lead them to their person of interest known as the Dutchman. If they fail to find him in time it could spell disaster for the world.
However working with Jerico is not going to be easy. Following the operation he is in essence two different people, himself and Bill Pope all inside one mind. Will the new memories curb Jerico’s natural instinct for violence?
Style / Direction
The film is directed by Ariel Vromen with the cinematography handled by Dana Gonzales.
Criminal is very much an action movie with it moving along at a fast pace with plenty of violence and car chases. In many ways it shares much in common with the Bourne films action and story wise.
Dig a little deeper and against the action and violence is a man conflicted, struggling to find his identity. Having being devoid of feeling any love he now finds himself experiencing it through another man’s memories causing him to become a better person.
This makes Criminal a thoroughly entertaining and engrossing film. In fact the way in which the filmmakers combine these two aspects really does make Criminal standout from the crowd of run of the mill action flicks.
Music / Audio Effects
The music is provided by Brian Tyler & Keith Power and has a modern action tempo that really suits the action sequences whilst switching to a more emotional thought provoking style when Jerico is struggling with his new and conflicted personality.
Acting / Characters
The cast line-up is very strong with the likes of Costner, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones and Gal Gadot. All are strong and believable performances.
Oldman plays Quaker Wells the man at the CIA in London in charge of sorting out this mess. He does this exceptionally well and gives the film plenty of drive.
Tommy Lee Jones further adds to the excellent set of characters by playing the Doctor who makes the memory procedure possible.
He seems to be somewhat sympathetic to his patient despite his violent nature. He plays it to perfection.
Then let’s not forget Bill Popes wife Jill played by Gal Gadot. She really ramps up the emotional side of the film, struggling with the death of her husband only to be confronted by a man whom seemingly knows everything even the most private of things shared between her and her husband. Gal Gadot performance really does enrich both the story and the emotional vibe of the film.
However with all that said the real star of the film is without a doubt Kevin Costner. Having to play a vicious criminal who would kill you without a second thought slowly change into a conflicted but more caring personality is simply spectacular at times.
Make no mistake Costner is simply outstanding as Jerico Stewart.
Conclusion: Criminal (2016) Film Review
If you love a good action thriller you should without a doubt add Criminal to your must see movie list. It’s full of action, along with some nice humour at times. I’d say this is Costner’s best film in years and highly recommend it.
If you like my Criminal blu-ray review you may want to check out these films:
Conclusion: Criminal Blu-ray Review
Clearly the picture and sound are outstanding as it’s a brand new film but what else do you get when you purchase the Blu-ray version?
Extras
Behind the Scenes look
Not much in the way of extras and the behind the scenes look really fails to tell you anything new.
Popcorn Cinema Rating: Criminal (2016)
MOVIE RATING: MUST SEE
BLU-RAY RATING: GOOD
EXTRAS: MINIMAL
POPCORN CINEMA: RECOMMENDED
Amazon UK Links
Criminal (2016) blu-ray is available now.
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Criminal (2016) Film Trailer
For those of you yet to see the film I’ll leave you with a little taster…
Clip may not be representative of the Blu-ray version
That concludes my Criminal blu-ray review, check back soon for more reviews.
Summary: Criminal (2016) Blu-ray Review
Movie title: Criminal (2016)
Duration: 114 mins
Director(s): Ariel Vromen
Actor(s): Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones, Gal Gadot, Ryan Reynolds
Genre: Action, Thriller
- Movie Rating
- Blu-ray Rating
Summary
It’s Costner’s best film in years and is simply a must see.
