You might think of it as an updated take on the 90's science thriller films 'Face Off' and 'Unforgettable', in 2016's 'Criminal', Ryan Reynolds is Bill Pope, a CIA Agent, with integral information -only he knows. When Pope is killed in the line of duty, division head - Gary Oldman resorts to unorthodox means by reaching out to Tommy Lee Jones' Dr. Franks a neuroscientist specializing on memory transfer. A different character from his usual tough guy roles.
Dr. Franks helps extract Bill Pope's memories and transfer them to another human being. Problem is, the ideal candidate for the memory transfer is a Neanderthal-like Kevin Costner, who plays Jericho Stelwart who has spent most of his life in prison, thanks in part to his undeveloped frontal lobe, which was damaged as a child. This rare brain damage has robbed him of the capacity to differentiate right from wrong, making him live of life of violence and eventually spending half of it in prison.
Jericho can't comprehend emotions and when he is suddenly given Bill Pope's memories he starts experiencing things for the first time.
While the threat of an imminent world war is peering at the corner, Jericho wrestles with memories of Bill Pope's wife, Jill (Wonder Woman herself, Gal Gadot) and his daughter Emma.
Can Jericho finish Bill's mission in time? And how does a cruel hard man-who has no idea or experience on love and family do when he is suddenly handed memories of a beautiful family he loves but does not belong to?
The greatest strength of the film is how the audiences cheered on a hardened Jericho, whose brute, child like actions becomes almost amusing when he is suddenly bestowed with skills and memories of a CIA agent.
While the movie was surprisingly enjoyable for audiences, it doesn't offer anything new along this story line which has already been explored. I think they could have chosen a better title for it too.
6 out of 10. “Criminal” opens in cinemas this April 13 from OctoArts Films International.
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