"Criminal" is the American version of an Argentinian film, "Nine Queens". "Nine Queens" is an amazingly good picture...so good that I recommend you see it. Should you bother seeing this Americanization? Read on to see.

The story begins with a clumsy young grifter, Rodrigo (Diego Luna),scamming in a casino. Another grifter, the more experienced and suave Richard (John C. Reilly),sees what's happening...and sees when one of the employees recognize that they are being swindled. So, Richard pretends to be a cop and 'arrests' Rodrigo...and after leaving the casino, Richard offers to hire the young man, as he needs a new partner. But first, to make sure he can handle it, they spend the day cheating people...to make sure Rodrigo is good at his craft. So where does all this go next and what does a forged bank note have to do with them? See the film.

Richard is an extremely crude, unlikable and crass guy. While I usually hate that in movies, considering he's supposed to be a complete sociopath, it actually makes sense to have him be so awful. Reilly does a fine job here...though my wife said "I prefer him when he plays idiots like in TALLADEGA NIGHTS"). As for the rest, they're fine and the movie is enjoyable and intelligently made. But the bottom line is that it is NOT original and so the movie loses a point or so. Still, it's is good and well worth your time...if you are, for some reason, dead set against seeing the better original.

American remake of the 2000 Argentinian film "Nine Queens" features John C. Reilly in a superlative performance as a sometimes-successful Los Angeles con-man who partners with a Spanish grifter he meets one morning trying to swindle waitresses in a casino; they become involved in a scheme to dupe an Irish billionaire out of 750 Gs with a rare (and counterfeit) bill of foreign currency. Director Gregory Jacobs, who also co-wrote the script with Sam Lowry (the pen name of Steven Soderbergh),wisely allows Reilly lots of room to go into his maniacal arias, which is a good thing since little else in "Criminal" quite measures up to him (certainly not that generic title!). Although the colorful supporting cast is excellent, Reilly is the spark plug to the entire picture--a fact which makes the final curtain something of a let-down. Since this house-of-cards scenario is filled with cross and double-cross, it's difficult to fault the general plotting (it's a writer's conceit, after all); however, the impetus of this story--how it all gets set into motion--is questionable by the denouement. Still, an engrossing and enjoyable film with a high-wire acting job from Reilly, which might have received a great deal more acclaim had the overall results been stronger. **1/2 from ****

Crime is a 2003 film based on a foreign one, Nueve Reinas.

Rodrigo (Diego Luna) is a young Mexican male who, while in a casino, tries the old screwing up the waitress so she gives the wrong change con, when he's spotted by Richard (John C. Reilly). He gets Richard out of the casino by claiming to be a cop.

Richard no longer has a partner, so he offers to take on Rodrigo. Rodrigo has a little money but he needs more to pay his father's gambling debts.

Richard has his own problems, namely, his sister (Maggie Gyllenhaal) whom Richard cheated, along with their brother, out of their part of their mother's estate. She's suing him.

Richard is contacted by a businessman, once an associate of his, who wants help selling a forged treasury note to someone who needs to leave the country the next day due to his visa expiring.

Another man intrudes on the deal, and Richard needs more money and asks Rodrigo to use his savings.

John C. Reilly is a wonderful actor. Here, playing a crook through and through, a racist, an anti-Semite, a man who cons his own family, he's excellent, actually bringing humor to a character who is reprehensible. He was actually cast as Stanley Kowalski in the Natalie Richardson "Streetcar Named Desire," a casting I'll never understand, although I'm sure he was excellent, if the wrong type.

Diego Luna is sweet and unassuming as Richard's partner, who seems out of his depth.

I felt this film moved a little slowly and also, I have to admit that I'm tired of this type of plot. I saw it coming a mile away. It was somewhat fresh 40 years ago. No more.

I love suspense, mystery, crime drama, etc., so I wonder how many of this type of movie I'll have to sit through over the next 30 years.

However, it has entertainment value and good performances, and if you don't watch these films as much as I do, you may love it. Hope so.