Can a movie feature an all star cast and still fail miserably? Yes it can. Exhibit A: “Criminal”, a criminally bad action thriller that flatters itself by claiming to be original. It wishes. Ryan Reynolds plays a CIA agent who gets killed off 10 minutes into the movie while on a mission to track down a hacker called “The Dutchman” (Michael Pitt, in a weird accent). In order to complete the mission, an experimental procedure is used to transfer his memory into a dangerous ex convict (that would be Kevin Costner, in career suicide mode). What follows is a failed attempt to rip off the 90’s classic “Face/Off” starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. This is perpetuated by an array of unappealing and annoying characters; by the end, I didn’t even feel comfortable rooting for the so called “hero”. All the actors, from Gary Oldman to Tommy Lee Jones, go down with the ship, helpless to rise above a preposterous script. Damn shame. “Criminal” is a waste of time and talent.

Rating: 1.5/4