Boring

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Once again, Hollywood making remakes they shouldn't. While the original film Nueve Reinas is excellent in every way, especially the performance of Darin and the original script, this is just a fine copy of something great in which they didn't add any extra value. Remakes are supposed to be better than the original, otherwise, don't do it at all!!I only give it a 4 because the Argentinian film is a 10. Don't watch this if you haven't, watch the original, and if you already had, please download Nueve Reinas and erase this from your brain.

I liked Criminal. Almost a lot. This is a good film about the art of the con. Not a great film, but a good one. The Grifters, The House of Games, and, of course, The Sting, are great films about the con. Criminal is a peg below them, but still very enjoyable. The film stars two standard bearers, John C. Reilly and Maggie Gyllenhaal, and an actor I had not previously known, Diego Luna. Reilly plays Richard Gaddis, a professional con man who thinks he is something special. Gyllenhaal plays his sister, Valerie, a concierge at a swanky hotel in Los Angeles, who is more cunning than she lets on. Luna portrays Rodrigo, Gaddis' seemingly compliant understudy. All three give solid performances.The film is well crafted in every respect. I understand now that the film is basically a remake of a foreign film, Nine Queens, which I didn't see. Maybe if I had seen that film I wouldn't have enjoyed this one as much. Since I didn't see it, I don't really know. But since you probably haven't seen that film either, I recommend you see Criminal.I have yet to see a film yet in which Reilly puts in a bad performance, so I wasn't surprised that he did well in Criminal. As a good con man, and as an accomplished actor, he doesn't tip his hand, he's polished, and he is credible. Actually, that goes for the other cast members as well. Unlike The Sting, where you know who is getting stung, and by whom, and even why, in Criminal you think you do, but you don't. It's more like The House of Games, where you don't know what you think you know. Suffice it to say, I didn't see the curve coming. One thing I didn't like about the film is its title. Its bluntness undermines the skill of subtlety with which this film was made. So enjoy this film and find out what you know. And what you don't know.

Honor among thieves? *I don't think so!* Well-dressed and well-spoken grifter, Richard (John C. Reilly), rescues inexperienced, young Spanish con artist, Rodrigo (Diego Luna) from an arrest, taking the supposedly-inexperienced youngster under his wing, at first for small cons, and then for a giant con that suddenly falls into his lap.Ah yes, but who is conning who? Well directed by Gregory Jacobs – or misdirected, as the case may be – from an Argentine movie, NINE QUEENS (Fabián Bielinsky's NUEVE REINAS, 2000), produced by George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh (no strangers to confusing audiences – to wit: OCEAN'S 11/12/13), CRIMINAL is rife with scams within cons within plays.All very satisfactory, I might add, due in large part to the utmost conviction in all the exceptional performances. Twists in con movies tend to come at you with a groan, whereas the twisty storyline in CRIMINAL comes at you via a night-stick to the back of the knees.Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Reilly's sister, of whom he asks a morally-wretched favor, and Peter Mullan is a rich investor whom Reilly tries to sell a counterfeit bank note. All while trying to con Diego's life savings from his little illegal immigrant pockets.With the deceptive dance twirling to the last frame, you discover something about yourself when you watch these types of movies – whether you are sharp enough to see the reveal coming, or whether you LIKE being a blind bitch.

A great film! I had never heard of it until I saw it in a video store, as far as I knew, it was straight to video. I picked it up, read the back and saw it was produced by George clooney. and George Clooney doesn't make mistakes (Except oceans 12 and batman&robin). So I figured it had to be a good movie. John C. Riley makes a great con artist in this film where he and Diego Luna as another con artist team up to con a rare counterfeit bill for a huge amount of money. Along the way they have to pull several small cons together. It all pulls together in the end with an awesome twist comparable to "Usual Suspects" and "Murder on the orient express"