The Criminal

Beware all the positive reviews. Reading that this film bears any resemblance to a Guy Ritchie film made me cringe.

"Contrived" never described a film as perfectly as it does this one.

From laughable bad-cop antics, to pointless paranoid schizophrenics and finally to an brief and amateurish handling of serious political issues, "The Criminal" promises to fail to engage the mind of the sophisticated movie-watcher.

That said, "The Criminal" isn't terrible. For the most part, the acting is better than average, and there certainly isn't a lack of action. However the writing and directing are marginal at best. 4 out of 10.

This film is really just something to watch when you are bored. It's by no means the worst film on the world, but it could have been so much better.

There are some funny moments, and parts where you do wonder just what the hells going on. You can decide for yourself whether that is a good thing or a bad thing.

I did enjoy the beginning, the way it kind of gave you a false sense of security; how it gave you the impression that the film might be something that was completely different from what it turned out to be. But it did go down hill from there on end.

Okay, it may not have the budget of Enemy of the State, but Julian Simpson's first film was undeniably enjoyable nonetheless. The Criminal, withstanding a few minor glitches, is one of the most likeable British films I've seen in ages. I must admit that I am slightly biased as I love conspiracy films but this had all the right ingredients: the innocent everyman hero on the run, spies, femme fatales, plot twists etc. It occasionally felt as if some scenes could've been cut to quicken the pace, but as it is it's still very entertaining.

Bernard Hill, the Captain from Titanic, was brilliant as the foul-mouthed bad-tempered policeman, and Steven Mackintosh was believable as the everyman hero, without resulting to cliche's. The rest of the cast was made up with faces from TV, but this didn't matter as they were all great.

This film lacked the basics; tension, atmosphere and a half decent script. It didnt work. It didnt know what it was. It ended up being Farce. Keystone cops, 'U' certificate violence, dodgy flashbacks, Bethnal Green Town-hall;(When do you ever get an oak panelled cop shop?) I can only think that the American actress playing the street-wise urchin, (taking the film to an even more embarassing depth), was only there because a relation of hers put money into the project! Whats sad is its got such a good cast. Oh what could have been done with them and the budget! It makes 'Honest' look like a masterpiece. They'd probabley make a good double-bill!!

The Criminal is a suspense/thriller that unfortunately lacks much of either. It starts out well enough, with a guy named Jasper picking up a girl in a bar and bringing her home. A man bursts into his house and murders the girl. Jasper is on the run from the police as he tries to prove his innocence and find who the real killer is. The problem is that this has been so many times and this time it is only so-so. Acting is OK, except from the American girl who is just awful. Good opening, but everything just goes down from there and it gets to the point where it just isn't that engaging. Everything is just average. Not embarrassing, but not really worth watching. ** out of ****