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# ‘Criminal’ is stolen version of an earlier film
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/criminal-is-stolen-version-of-an-earlier-film/
- Published: 2004-09-10T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T05:01:58.000Z
- Author: Dan Dunn
- Tags: Entertainment, Santa Monica, #archive-import

John C. Reilly and Diego Luna star in this puzzling remake of an Argentinean film (“Nine Queens”) that was released stateside just two years ago. Either the “Criminal” production team, which includes producers Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney, believes American audiences have really short memories, or they deemed their aversion to subtitles to be so strong that an English language replica of the entertaining original was in order. That’s what “Criminal” is — a near exact copy of a very recent foreign film.

This version features Reilly and Luna as Richard and Rodrigo, two low-level grifters who meet each other in a casino and later that day stumble upon a big-money con involving an Irish billionaire, Maggie Gyllenhaal (as Richard’s sister) and some counterfeit silver certificates. As heist movies goes, this one has enough surprises to keep unsuspecting eyes locked to the screen. Problem is, the bulk of the target audience for “Criminal,” the art-house set, is likely to have seen “Nine Queens” and thus will be hampered by the knowledge of what’s coming. Since the weight of the movie rests upon the climactic twist, those familiar with the material won’t find much else to hold their interest, save Reilly’s engaging turn as the slimy, opportunistic thief. Luna, on the other hand, plays his con-artist way too cutesy to be convincing. His partnership with a shark like Richard never feels kosher.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 10, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/091004.pdf?ref=smdp.com)