Criminal (2016) film UK release date, cast and movie details

Gary Oldman, Kevin Costner and Tommy Lee Jones are about to unite in new psychological action thriller, Criminal, later in 2016 in a movie that’s all about memories, crime and the moral line of law enforcement. It makes for a pretty widened cast, as the combined age of the actors stands at 183 years, with a total of 119 years of acting, two BAFTAs and three Academy Award between them, so if the movie quality turns out to be proportional to the experience of its cast, then it should be one to light look out for in 2015.

Release date

Criminal (2016) had been initially slated for a US and UK release date of the 21st August 2015, making it one of the next summer outings at the big screen, but it’s now been put back to 2016, arriving on the 29th January in the UK, followed up by a US release on the 15th April. It’s not really going to be shot for 3D cinema, so it’ll be one for 2D screen viewing only, despite the action element that’s set to be as much of a part of the film as the psychological thriller premise.

Storyline

The plot follows the bizarre setup of a dangerous death row prisoner who is given a potential life line as part of a US government operation to stop a terrible crime from happening. Once in on the mission he is implanted with the memories, skills and secrets of a murdered CIA agent thanks to a new scientific breakthrough, leaving him with the role of completing the mission.

The question is whether or not the strength of the agent’s memories will be enough to overcome the criminal’s past and keep focused on the CIA’s last ditch attempt to complete the mission.

Cast

In addition to Oldman (Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy (2011)), Costner (Tin Cup) and Jones, Criminal will also star Ryan Reynolds (Adventureland), bringing down the average age by a good few years. On the female side of the equation, future Wonder Woman Gal Gadot (Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice) has been cast in the film, along with Alice Eve (Men In Black 3 and Star Trek: Into Darkness) and Antje Traue (Seventh Son). Jordi Molla (Ant-Man) and Michael Pitt (Boardwalk Empire) have also been confirmed to star in the movie.

Production

Criminal is being directed by Ariel Vromen, who’s most recent success has come with another crime thriller, The Iceman.

First impressions

It’s a slightly bizarre notion for a film and we’re already starting to pick the science behind it apart, so this could end up being a movie that gets consigned to the “ill-conceived” portion of the movie spectrum. If the CIA have somehow got the capabilities to store memories, why would they need a death row convict to resurrect them, and why would they then use the convict for anything other than to quickly tell them his secrets before being sent back to prison.

However, it’s far to early to tell for sure what to make of things with limited information about the film and a trailer yet to be released. If you go on the potential of the cast – bringing Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Oldman together and adding Alice Eve and Gal Gadot into the equation – you’d have to say that it could come good, but we’ll have to wait to see for sure.

Share the Criminal (2016) release date and film details with:

Criminal movie poster: