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07/21/05
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Criminal (2004)
76
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:34
Fresh:26
Rotten:8
Average Rating:6.7/10
Consensus: If you saw Nine Queens, it may feel redundant, but the snappy performances make it fun to watch.
Theatrical Release:Sep 10, 2004 Wide
Box Office: $740,056
Synopsis: Richard Gaddis (John C. Reilly) is a Los Angeles con man in search of a new partner. Enter Rodrigo (Diego Luna), a young grifter pulling minor scams in a casino. When Rodrigo is caught by a savvy... [More]
Starring: John C. Reilly, Diego Luna, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jonathan Tucker
Director: Gregory Jacobs
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Reviews for Criminal
Top CriticWith dashes of black humour and pointed glimpses of the American class system, Criminal is a taut con-versus-con game whose deft artistry isn't fully revealed until the last few minutes.
09/24/04
Top CriticA kind of who-done-what? puzzle. You'll probably enjoy it much more if you haven't seen the 2002 Argentine film, Nine Queens.
09/24/04
Top Critic... unfolds like a David Mamet film ...
09/13/04
Top CriticJacobs has brought the barrio into noir, and that's no small achievement. If nothing else, it opens the door to a whole new galaxy of grift.
09/12/04
Top CriticReilly and Luna make a chemically appealing screen team.
09/10/04
Top CriticJacobs -- who for many years was Soderbergh's assistant director -- keeps things moving at a sprightly pace, and cinematographer Chris Menges does a terrific job of capturing L.A. in all its mercurial glory.
09/10/04
Top CriticThis is a chance for Reilly to strut his stuff -- so good he ought to be illegal -- in harmony or against the grain with a variety of terrific character actors.
09/10/04
Top CriticThe problems lie not with the actors but with a glib approach that exposes the flaws of the original story.
09/10/04
Top CriticThose unfamiliar with Fabian Bielinsky's 2002 film will delight to this delicious deviousness.
09/10/04
Top CriticIn a way, the whole movie is a con job -- offering an inferior copy of something that wasn't too wonderful to begin with, while pretending that it has something new and stylish to sell.
09/10/04
Top CriticDoesn't exactly reinvigorate an overworked genre, but neither does it disgrace the format or the original movie.
09/10/04
Top CriticA breathless and dazzling caper that knocks your socks off.
09/10/04
Top CriticIt's such a pleasure being in the company of these actors as they work with character-rich material that if they burst into the audience and swindled us out of our wallets, we would gladly oblige.
09/10/04
Top CriticThe disparity between Richard and Rodrigo is too great and the impossible coincidences of the ending are too far-fetched.
09/10/04
Top CriticThis is the kind of movie so full of coincidence and double crosses that you simply don't have the mental energy to go back and sort it all out at the end.
09/10/04
Top CriticSome snappy dialogue, fine performances and lots of shady atmosphere give Criminal a tasty B-movie flavor.
09/10/04
Top CriticWhat elevates Criminal into a delicious con in the league of Red Rock West, House of Games or Matchstick Men is John C. Reilly.
09/10/04
Top CriticFollows the original fairly closely, and because I already knew the plot secrets, it couldn't work on me in its intended way. As the recycled characters, dialog and events turned up, there seemed to be an echo in the room.
09/10/04
Top CriticReilly sheds a career playing dupes and schlubs and gives his first full-tilt electric performance.
09/10/04
Top CriticLatest News for Criminal
October 21, 2005:
Clooney Prepares for "Wind Chill"
George Clooney's Section 8 shingle will produce a horror thriller entitled "Wind Chill," says Variety. "Criminal" director Gregory Jacobs will be behind the... More...
December 22, 2003:
The script works in spades overall, bringing viewers an enjoyable look into this shadowy world and making it truly something that can be termed "con artistry." 
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