Review: 'Criminal' is a goofy, but good, action flick

The opening of “Criminal” might make you think you're in for a Jason Bourne movie starring Ryan Reynolds. Nope. What you're in for is a delightfully cheesy action movie starring Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Oldman, with Costner doing a Liam Neeson-style tough-guy career reinvention.

“Criminal” is written by the screenwriting team behind '90s classics “The Rock” and “Double Jeopardy” and directed by Ariel Vromen, who recently helmed the creepy Michael Shannon hitman movie “The Iceman.” Jones plays Dr. Franks, a researcher who has developed a process to transplant one person's memories into another person's brain.

When the need arises to get CIA agent Bill Pope's (Reynolds) memories out of his head, Dr. Franks (-enstein) has the perfect candidate: Jericho Stewart (Kevin Costner), a killer and psychopath in a maximum-security penitentiary. CIA boss Quaker Wells (Oldman) has no time for human trials or to find a better, less crazy candidate. They need Pope's memories to find a Dutch hacker (Michael Pitt). If they don't find the Dutchman — which they shout a lot: “The Dutchman!” — he might sell the stolen information to a Spanish anarchist (Jordi Molla).

Turns out, psychopaths from the federal pen aren't reliable or compliant. Jericho has no patience for Oldman's screeching, and he busts himself out as quickly as possible and sets off with Pope's memories to track down a duffel full of money he stashed somewhere in London.

The premise is ludicrous, and people shout deliciously silly things like, “If you had kept better tabs on the Dutchman, we would have already had the wormhole!” Gary Oldman is totally out of control, chomping the scenery.

But, the movie is actually kind of good. Director Vromen never lets it stop moving. Even when it's chaotic, it's still clear. Costner also is pretty great, even when he's gamboling about London. A sociopathic lifelong prisoner released onto metropolitan European streets is just fun — he discovers electronic dance music! And lattes!

And, the emotional stakes are there: The idea that someone else's memories might make an unrepentant killer feel something real for the first time ends up being a rather poignant concept. Jericho not only gets a purpose in life, but he also gets to understand the way that other, normal people understand the world. Costner truly sells this, and he develops a tenderness toward Bill's wife, Jill (Gal Gadot), and daughter.

Costner ends up being quite good as the brutal Jericho, and everyone around him is at least fully committed to going along for the ride. “Criminal” feels like the kind of high-concept, unapologetically preposterous action movies of the heyday in the '80s and '90s. If that's your thing, it's a hoot.

Katie Walsh is a Tribune News Service writer.