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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: Warner Home Video
Salesrank: 32785
Released: April 12, 2005 |
| Our Price: $4.77 |
| Used Price: $0.65 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
John C. Reilly, Diego Luna and Maggie Gyllenhaal navigate the con-or-be-conned world of the L.A. grift in a clever caper directed by Gregory Jacobs and produced by Jacobs, George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh. A $750,000 one-night score awaits Richard and Rodrigo if they can flimflam an antique-currency collector (Peter Mullan) - a ruse soon packed with more twists than a box of pretzels. For suspense, surprise and a wow ending, catch this Criminal!
Description of Criminal:
Richard Gaddis (John C. Reilly) catches young Rodrigo (Diego Luna) conning some casino waitresses out of chump change and decides the guy is just the right chump to help him run other local scams. The slyest thing about this diverting remake of the 2000 Argentinian heist flick Nine Queens is, in fact, how much everybody seems to have a scam in the works--there isn’t a single honest soul in sinful, sunbeaten Los Angeles. Richard and Rodrigo soon get caught up in a big swindle concerning some counterfeit currency, a game that ensnares Gaddis’ angrily estranged sister Valerie (Maggie Gyllenhaal), the concierge of the hotel that’s hosting the guys’ main mark (Peter Mullan, coolly brutish). What happens next isn’t really anything new--The Sting, anyone?--and the requisite final twist might not hold up to closer inspection, but director Gregory Jacobs knows how to lie back and it keep it gliding affably along (he served as an assistant director on nearly all of Steven Soderbergh’s films). The performers all hook into the low-key vibe: Reilly’s schlub persona fits snugly into his small-time grifter role, while Luna and Gyllenhaal seem more simmering and sexy in each new shot. The movie is as entertaining and inessential as L.A. itself. --Steve Wiecking
Criminal Reviews:
Diego Luna who? 
2009-09-21 - I saw CRIMINAL on the HD Network and was amazed at the acting talent of Diego Luna. John C. Reilly was the main star and of course both are very talented actors.
I was amazed to see the DVD on Amazon. Of course I purchased it right away. I have shown it to many friends who had never heard of the movie nor Diego. I only hope he has a long career in more American films. On the Internet it names a list of films he has appeared in in South America.
If you missed the HD net screening, you should buy the DVD. It is very good with a big twist at the end of the film. A Five star Rating in my book. It takes place in Vegas, or is it Reno? There I go again, forgetting locations. Anyway, it is good.
A Con Is A Con Is A Con
2009-04-11 - I can't believe this DVD is selling for 85 cents. John C.Reilly - Never heard of him - but he sure plays the ideal Con Man - and he did more than memorize his lines - he played the part like he said it from the heart. Buy this Film with no name actors - you won't be disappointed. Too bad they used a little foul language to get the 'R' Rating - It wasn't needed to have a Super Picture.
Cracking good!
2009-02-24 - I really enjoyed this fast paced caper film about a guy who turns everything into a scam, only to have the tables turned on him in the end. It's lightweight. No one gets hurt. And the script is smart. Plus, it's less than 90 minutes long, and goes by in a blur. Top cast for such a lightweight film.
Why must every foreign language film be remade? 
2008-11-05 - Two con-men, Richard (John C. Reilly) and the younger, less hardened Ricardo (Diego Luna), meet at a casino and decide to be partners for the day. A series of events leads to them working together to sell a forged copy of a very rare currency note to a collector, but things become complicated when it turns out that the collector is staying at the same hotel where Richard's sister (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who disapproves of her brother's actions, works.
"Criminal" is a more-or-less shot for shot remake of the Argentine movie "Nine Queens", but without a lot of the detail of the original. I just finished watching both of these movies, back-to-back. In my recent review of "Nine Queens", I said that it was essentially a rip-off of "The Sting", and in some ways it is, but after seeing this same story twice in a row, I am starting to develop more of an appreciation for it. Although it definitely pays homage to "The Sting", "Nine Queens"/ "Criminal" still has a lot to say in its own right and is well worth seeing (especially if you like films like "The Sting").
Comparing the two films, "Nine Queens" comes out on top in almost every respect. With the exception of John C. Reilly, whom I preferred to his Argentine counterpart, I thought every other actor in "Nine Queens" was superior to his or her "Criminal" equivalent. Also, as I said before, "Nine Queens" is more detailed than "Criminal". "Nine Queens" is about half an hour longer than "Criminal". The time difference between the two films is mostly due to the fact that many scenes in "Criminal" have had a minute or two cut from them, but those few minutes here and there are what gave "Nine Queens" its character.
As with many other English language remakes of foreign language movies, there is no real reason why this film need exist. It doesn't add anything to "Nine Queens". It is interesting to watch both of these films together, just to compare and contrast them, but if you have to choose between the two of them, I'd watch "Nine Queens" instead.
NOT SEEING THIS FILM SHOULD BE............CRIMINAL! 
2008-06-23 - This is a very good film with some terrific performances and an interesting story. It's about time I saw a movie that totally blind sided me and I was completely baffled to the very end. It's short and to the point, but it doesn't feel rushed for being under an hour and a half. One of the better unknown movies I've seen in a while. It's well worth checking out!
