Criminal

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Criminal

R,

2016,

1h 53m,

Action/

Mystery & Thriller/

Sci-Fi

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30%

135 Reviews

Tomatometer

47%

10,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

30%

Tomatometer

135 Reviews

47%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

CIA agent Bill Pope (Ryan Reynolds) dies while traveling to a secret location to meet a hacker who can launch missiles at will. Desperate to find his whereabouts, officials turn to an experimental neurosurgeon who can transfer memories from one brain to another. The guinea pig for the procedure is Jerico Stewart (Kevin Costner), a violent and dangerous death-row inmate. Now gifted with Pope's skills and knowledge, Stewart must race against time to stop a sinister international conspiracy.

Critics Consensus

Despite the valiant efforts of a game and talented cast, Criminal has little to offer beyond the bare minimum expected by the most undemanding of genre enthusiasts.

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

Aug 11, 2016

2/4

As a movie, there's plenty here to respect. As entertainment, however, this is tough one to enjoy, all of which makes Criminal a vexing spectacle that's hard to watch all the way through to its end.

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Paul Byrnes

Sydney Morning Herald

May 18, 2016

2/5

It's lazy, corrupt and sleazy filmmaking, the kind of film that's killing the business.

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John Nugent

Empire Magazine

May 11, 2016

1/5

We can but pray that scientists invent a procedure to remove the memory of ever watching this film in the first place.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Nov 6, 2025

1.5/4

For a movie that hinges on a soulless man developing feelings, Criminal is noticeably lacking any of its own.

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Colin Biggs

Vague Visages

Dec 1, 2023

Regretfully, Criminal makes up for its lack of ideas with blood, guts and even more blood.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Apr 15, 2022

1.5/4

A dull, yet star-studded production that feels like a 1990s action movie throwback - complete with over-the-top villains, ruthless violence, and an absurd premise.

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Kylo L

Apr 4, 2019

Spoiler alert - don't read this if you haven't seen it yet. I liked this movie. I refuse to compare it to other movies because I think the premise is kind of cool. And it works within the story. For me, the love and friendship part was the most meaningful. I think Costner did a good job with a difficult role. How do you play a brain injured person if you don't have a brain injury? That's probably one of the hardest things to act out. I didn't like the way he had brain surgery, then didn't have any meaningful recovery time before going on the run. It does take at least a week before you feel energy reserves after major surgery. I loved the story line of the little girl and how he couldn't hurt her. That sweetened the deal. So did the love and friendship he achieved with the mama.

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Kylo R

Feb 27, 2019

The plot to this film is way out there, I am normally on board for movies that have a wild element such as this, but this one just seemed...I don't know, odd. Going into the film I had extremely high hopes based on the all-star cast but was kind of let down. The AAA players that were present on the screen were fantastic, but the other characters just fell extremely flat. To be honest, if it wouldn't have been for the absolutely breathtaking moments between Costner and Gadot I would have scored this movie much lower. The exchange between them regarding Bill's past and their life together was inspired and for me the saving grace in this otherwise mediocre action film. I wouldn't necessarily be excited to watch this again, but based on the performance of Costner and Gadot I would recommend it.

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Ron R

Aug 10, 2018

Interesting plot and kept me entertained but was stretched a little far and some parts were just plain stupid. I also did not appreciate the acting. (50%)

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Aug 8, 2018

Don't you see?! This is an incredible chance for all directors out there!! Make an Oliver Stone style movie investigating the behind the scenes, the secrets, the mysteries surrounding those three great actors and their involvement in to this orgy of confusion, triviality and nonesense and you will have an Oscar worth movie!!!

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Aug 3, 2018

Excellent actors and acting, 'plausible' sci-fi tech plot, good action. Suitable for spy/action genre.

Theodore W

Jul 16, 2018

Great cast, performances and plot.

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Ariel Vromen

Director

Kevin Costner

Jerico Stewart

Gal Gadot

Jill Pope

Gary Oldman

Quaker Wells

Ryan Reynolds

Bill Pope

Tommy Lee Jones

Dr. Franks

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Synopsis

CIA agent Bill Pope (Ryan Reynolds) dies while traveling to a secret location to meet a hacker who can launch missiles at will. Desperate to find his whereabouts, officials turn to an experimental neurosurgeon who can transfer memories from one brain to another. The guinea pig for the procedure is Jerico Stewart (Kevin Costner), a violent and dangerous death-row inmate. Now gifted with Pope's skills and knowledge, Stewart must race against time to stop a sinister international conspiracy.

Director: Ariel Vromen
Producer: J.C. Spink, Jake Weiner, Matthew O'Toole, Mark Gill, Christa Campbell, Denis Chobanov
Screenwriter: Douglas Cook, David Weisberg
Distributor: Lionsgate Films
Production Co: Benderspink, Campbell Grobman Films, Summit Entertainment
Rating: R (Strong Violence|Language Throughout)
Genre: Action, Mystery & Thriller, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 15, 2016, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 12, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $14.7M
Runtime: 1h 53m
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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