Criminal

Co-produced by George Clooney and director Steven Soderbergh, who both created the wonderful heist movie Ocean's Eleven, which has a very smart plot. Even the writer of Ocean's Eleven gets a special thanks during the end credits. So lots of references to that very smart Ocean's Eleven classic.

This story is very smart as well and you wont see the twists and turns coming. It is not as funny or exciting as Ocean's Eleven though, not by far, because "Criminal" is quite a slowburning, talkative con movie, wherein two small time con artists try to pull of a really big con trick. Will they succeed? That's the cliffhanger.

Great acting performance by John C. Reilly. I really cant think of any movie in which he has ever played below par. This actor is true to life in his acting and he is the one that makes this movie worthwhile watching, with an excellent supporting role by the wonderfully gifted Maggie Gylenhaal as well.

Charming characters, intelligent plot, but it is a slow burning story, so only suited for those who have some patience and appreciate acting performances and the plot above speed or suspense.

Con-man Richard (John C. Reilly) enlists Mexican petty thief Rodrigo (Diego Luna) as his new temporary partner, and soon they are engaged in a huge scam involving counterfeit money, being helped along by Richard's skeptical sister Valerie (Maggie Gyllenhaal).

In 'Criminal' you soon learn not to believe ANYTHING you see! It is an object lesson in distrust, but an engaging and wonderfully entertaining one. Who is going to f... whom over, that's what it is all about. Richard conned his two younger siblings out of their share of the inheritance after their mother, but he whines and bitches at every turn, and he proves himself to be both antisemitic and anti-black. When once again he has tried to cheat his new partner out of his cut, he exclaims, "What's with the raped-virgin look?". Richard is a terrible, terrible person, a thoroughly rotten apple who believes that "F...ing, that's when you're handcuffed on the pavement". Anything short of that he can deal with, squirming like a worm. Of his victims he says, "I don't feel anything for them. They're marks. Some of them are dumber than f ... pets!". John C. Reilly is very good in the part, although I found myself longing for just one other color on the palette, just some surprise, something not too predictable.

He says to Rodrigo, "You got something that money and practice can't buy, you look like a nice guy", and Diego Luna (the 'other' guy from 'And You Mother Too', alongside Gabriel García Bernal) has a puppy-dog appeal that works like a charm. He has genuine, unforced charm and is cuddly at all times.

Obviously, if you have watched 'The Sting' or films like the great French caper 'Les ripoux' ('My New Partner', 1984), 'Criminal' will offer you nothing new or sensational. It does have a really nice feel to it, though, taking its leisurely time to get rolling, enabling us to get to know these people. Or so we think ...

7/10

Before giving any kind of review, it might help to point out a few things about the film:

1) This is the only lead role i've ever seen John C. Reilly in

2) It was produced by Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney - the 'Oceans Eleven' comparisons are endless

3) This is a directorial debut by Gregory Jacobs, who's previously worked with the above and others such as the Coen Brothers

4) The film is a remake of a 2000 Argentinian film called 'Nueve Reinas' (Nine Queens)

There are some things about this film that were guaranteed before hand; a razor-sharp script, cool soundtrack and stylish look. However, before attending an advanced showing of the film last night, i checked out the IMDb comments and was not expecting too much. I was, however, pleasantly surprised.

The thing to remember is that the film is not only a remake, but YET ANOTHER addition to an already exhausted Hollywood genre ('The Sting', 'Oceans Eleven' and recently 'Matchstick Men'), and so any originality was going to be hard-earned. But the script is excellent. In the early stages of the film, you feel like Reilly is being a bit heavy-handed with the mannerisms of his intentionally caricatured conman (especially for those familiar with his awesome and similarly heavy-handed and clumsy cop in 'Magnolia', it takes a bit of time to adjust!), but the character definitely grows on him. It is, if nothing else, refreshing to see an actor of his ability given the chance to dominate every scene, and on the whole he takes his chance well.

The real star though, as mentioned elsewhere, is Diego Luna. He plays a fresh-faced and naive rookie-crook who's taken on by Reilly, and throughout the film the interplay between them is a highlight. No questions asked, he steals the show. This was a surprise to me, as i haven't seen him on screen before, but a bit of research shows he was in 'Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights', so this could be some breakthrough! Maggie Gylenhaal was slightly disappointing, as she's been particularly memorable in everything else i've seen from her, but in general the supporting cast is solid.

Where the film really succeeds though, is how it knows and appreciates its audience. From the outset, 'Criminal' appears as a clichéd gag-fest revolving around the two con-men, and you are continually guessing who's going to be screwing who, and the characters often refer to just this. But the plot is complicated (or maybe uncomplicated) enough to maintain the audiences attention, and you'd be kidding yourself if you said you saw the final twist coming.

Very watchable, very cool, very funny, but perhaps in the end a little unsatisfying. Well worth checking out though.

My vote for 9 Queens, 3 or 4 years ago: 10/10.

This one: 3/10. :-(

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Bad remake, nothing attractive in this movie. Stupid ending (different from the original), a little boring, we don't always understand what happens...

During the whole movie, we don't feel the stress of the characters. Not because they are bad actors but the movie is not enough realistic, it's difficult to imagine their thoughts.

I totally agree those who say to watch 9 Queens instead.

Why remake it? There is nothing to change to 9 Queens, the actors are perfect and the story is great. More credible than Criminal.

One question that always pop in my mind whenever Hollywood tries to remake a foreign film that was successful is: Why? In most cases, the end result is disastrous; it never compares with the original movie and why spend money in something that has already been done, better.

The movie in question here is the Argentine surprise film of last year, "9 Queens". In it, Fabian Belinsky, its director, was able to give us an original story, a caper, that was well executed and brilliantly acted; it was a pleasure to watch.

Not to put this movie down, but it suffers in comparison. Gregory Jacobs, the director, has adapted the story to present day Los Angeles and the story hasn't changed at all. The memory of the other movie was still vivid in our minds, so there was no surprise with this one.

The acting is good in general. John C. Reilly makes the con man Richard Gaddis perfectly slimy. Diego Luna brings a nice balance to his role, and Maggie Gillenhaal is excellent as the long suffering sister.

If you haven't seen the original, this version works fine.