Criminal: Arresting memory transplant

Cast: Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones, Ryan Reynolds, Jordi Mollà

Rated: 6/10

Big names, big imagination and good execution make this memory transplant thriller a good one to be with, especially with Kevin Costner doing a pretty good job with a character he has never played – that of an emotionless, incarcerated, brutal killer in whose brain a do-good, wife and daughter loving dead CIA’s agent’s (Ryan Reynolds) remembrances are inserted for a trail that is important for the organisation.

The underdone role has been handled well by Costner, much like a successful experiment. As he gets acquainted with emotions of love, caring and affection that have been alien to him, he starts turning from a monster to a human being but the director does well to not completely erase his original personality. So, there is a mix and match, there is brutal violence as also gentle gestures, like battering a man to death in a car hijack and saving a hair brush for the little one. The film, in pursuit of a global anarchist after missile codes, has pace interspersed with Costner’s brilliantly underdone histrionics. It is a thriller but of a different variety. However, some greats like Tommy Lee Jones are stymied by undercooked roles and small appearances. 

Source: Sunday Pioneer, 15 May, 2016