Criminal Blu-ray Review – Must See 2016 Costner Action-Thriller

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.

Criminal Blu-ray Review

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.

Note: The Amazon links on this page are affiliate / associate links. By buying through the links we may receive a commission for the sale. This has no effect on the price you pay.


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.

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Summary: Criminal (2016) Blu-ray Review
Criminal 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
4.5

Summary

It’s Costner’s best film in years and is simply a must see.