First of all, I feel that I should warn potential viewers of "Criminal" that while the ads and the critic quotes used on the Blu- ray box brand the movie as an action movie, it really isn't. Yes, there is action, but it's kind of sporadic. And when the action does come, it usually concludes very quickly. The movie is more of a thriller instead of an action-packed enterprise.
So now you know the actual path the movie takes, the question comes as to whether the path it takes is done well enough. Well, the results are kind of mixed. First, the negative stuff. There is some sloppy writing here and there that raises some glaring questions. (For example: How did the bad guys escape from the authorities during the bridge sequence? And how did the bad guys get Kevin Costner's character out of the library without anyone seeing them?)
Another problem is that I don't think the premise is exploited enough. The idea of the movie - a psychopath being injected with the memory and abilities of a secret agent - is indeed a great one. But the actual execution felt a little lacking. I'm not quite sure why, I admit, but I think the main problem is that we don't see Kevin Costner's character struggle enough between those two extremes. With more of a struggle, there might have been a lot more drama and tension.
The movie also moves a tad slow at times. But I have to admit that despite the somewhat leisurely pace at times - and those aforementioned problems - I wasn't really bored at any time. The movie always have something going on that kept me interested. So while I don't think the movie reached its full potential, there's enough here to make it acceptable rainy day viewing.
So now you know the actual path the movie takes, the question comes as to whether the path it takes is done well enough. Well, the results are kind of mixed. First, the negative stuff. There is some sloppy writing here and there that raises some glaring questions. (For example: How did the bad guys escape from the authorities during the bridge sequence? And how did the bad guys get Kevin Costner's character out of the library without anyone seeing them?)
Another problem is that I don't think the premise is exploited enough. The idea of the movie - a psychopath being injected with the memory and abilities of a secret agent - is indeed a great one. But the actual execution felt a little lacking. I'm not quite sure why, I admit, but I think the main problem is that we don't see Kevin Costner's character struggle enough between those two extremes. With more of a struggle, there might have been a lot more drama and tension.
The movie also moves a tad slow at times. But I have to admit that despite the somewhat leisurely pace at times - and those aforementioned problems - I wasn't really bored at any time. The movie always have something going on that kept me interested. So while I don't think the movie reached its full potential, there's enough here to make it acceptable rainy day viewing.