Criminal (2016)

Criminal is the kind of pulpy, high-concept thriller Hollywood used to make with absolute conviction: take a bruising action chassis, bolt on a sci‑fi moral dilemma, and let the story barrel forward like it has somewhere urgent to be. Kevin Costner gives the film its surprising center of gravity, playing a dangerous man who isn’t asked to become charming so much as to become human, one jagged memory at a time, while Ryan Reynolds and Gary Oldman lend the whole operation a slick, lived-in espionage sheen. The vibe is Bourne-adjacent—quick, hard-edged, and constantly in motion—yet it keeps circling back to questions of identity and consequence in a way that’s more affecting than you might expect from its premise. It won’t convert you if you’re allergic to loud, plot-driven genre mechanics, but if you want a fast, watchable ride with a strong cast and a clever hook, it delivers.

Criminal wants to mash up a high-concept sci‑fi hook (memory transfer) with a gritty, bruising crime thriller, and on paper that’s a fun excuse to let Kevin Costner go feral while the CIA clock ticks toward doomsday. The problem is the execution feels strangely flat: the pacing drags, the plot leans on convenient leaps of logic, and the movie keeps reaching for emotion without earning it, which can make the whole thing feel a bit sleazy rather than impactful. If you’re here for smart sci‑fi or a tight espionage story, this will likely test your patience. If you just want a grim, mid-budget action programmer with a couple of committed performances (Oldman, Costner) and don’t mind the nonsense, it’s serviceable background mayhem.