Criminal Activities

Name: Criminal Activities
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Crime
Released: November 20, 2015
Duration: 94 min
Rating: 51

2015

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 9 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Ratings

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6.8

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6.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Ratings

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Criminal Activities

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Movie Details & Credits

Image Entertainment | Release Date: November 20, 2015 | Not Rated

Summary: Four friends stumble into a deal too good to refuse. But when the investment goes bad, they learn that part of their funding came from a notoriously ruthless crime boss (John Travolta)... and it’s payback time. Now, they must successfully kidnap a family member of a rival kingpin in order to erase the life-threatening debt. In way overFour friends stumble into a deal too good to refuse. But when the investment goes bad, they learn that part of their funding came from a notoriously ruthless crime boss (John Travolta)... and it’s payback time. Now, they must successfully kidnap a family member of a rival kingpin in order to erase the life-threatening debt. In way over their heads, if they can complete the assigned task without screwing up, they just might escape with their lives. [RLJ Entertainment]… Expand

Director: Jackie Earle Haley

Genre(s): Drama, Thriller, Crime

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 94 min

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Critic Reviews

Neil Genzlinger

Nov 19, 2015

It doesn’t feel like a mere imitation; it has too much wit and too many striking performances for that. Read full review

Chris Packham

Nov 17, 2015

The script veers from comic, narrated episodes to surprising violence, planting early narrative seeds that yield some effective surprises later, a dynamic range that's pretty comfortable to old hands Travolta and Travolta's Chili Palmer wig after all these years. Read full review

Michael Rechtshaffen

Nov 19, 2015

Working from a glib, chatty script by Robert Lowell that's not as cleverly hatched as it likes to think it is, Haley whips it into something reasonably entertaining. Read full review

Movie Nation Roger Moore

Nov 17, 2015

A surehanded, tight and minimalist amateur-kidnapping thriller that benefits from a cast of some repute and a few nods to Tarantino within its 94 minutes. Read full review

Scott Tobias

Nov 19, 2015

There’s nothing remotely fresh about this revival, but tight pacing and an overqualified cast keep things zipping along nicely. Read full review

Michael O'Sullivan

Nov 19, 2015

Just when you’re about to write off your investment in Criminal Activities, the third-act dividend pays off, in spades. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Simon Abrams

Nov 20, 2015

Director Jackie Earle Haley's Criminal Activities is the worst kind of Tarantino clone, one with no gas in the tank, and no clue about how to pull off Tarantino's swagger. Read full review

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User Reviews

JohnTravolta321

Sep 21, 2016

CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES is a great movie. It's got super actors that play their characters perfectly, a creative story that I bet you will not guess the final outcome and it's just one of those movies that everyone gets pretty much what they deserve.
This movie grabs you from start to finishCRIMINAL ACTIVITIES is a great movie. It's got super actors that play their characters perfectly, a creative story that I bet you will not guess the final outcome and it's just one of those movies that everyone gets pretty much what they deserve.
This movie grabs you from start to finish and I'd highly recommend it.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

quincytheodore

Nov 24, 2015

Four debts and a funeral.

For all the gritty title and noir poster it has, the better part of Criminal Activity is its satirical attempt on crime genre. The thriller works by introducing subplots while playing out the main story with a lot of twists and turns. While not every narrativeFour debts and a funeral.

For all the gritty title and noir poster it has, the better part of Criminal Activity is its satirical attempt on crime genre. The thriller works by introducing subplots while playing out the main story with a lot of twists and turns. While not every narrative pays out, there's a solid acting here and it's pretty exciting to see the diverse characters as they are put in highly volatile situations.

Four young men reunite on the funeral of their friend. After a smoke they are intrigued by an investment opportunity that fails almost immediately. Unfortunately to them the investment is already tied to a mafia and they must do a difficult favor to clean the slate. Their hardship eventually turns into a spiral of dangerous power struggle with kidnapped niece and nephew while agents and assassins chase after them.

It's a deeper premise than it originally shows, creating layers of subplots as it progresses. Some of the sequences are highly entertaining due to their absurdity and good delivery by the actors. Edi Gathegi as the gangster involved in all the shenanigans stands out even among the capable leads of John Travolta and Dan Stevens. There are unexpected outlandish mafia themed narratives, or perhaps slight parody of it, that will deliver chuckle or thrill to audience.

However, even with most of the story manage to be entertaining, the movie tends to overreach. It has plenty of side characters or events that may not be that important yet still get a lot of screen time. It tries to pull off too many tricks that don't resonate better than its core story. Not to mention the twisting revelation at the end feels rather abrupt and might too far fetch, although it's still decent due to the outlandish nature.

Criminal Activity works on parts where the acting and satire are strong, but it does try to overreach with few others distracting stints like a greedy mobster.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

JLuis_001

Feb 6, 2018

Directorial debut of Jackie Earle Haley, his film is not really unique or fresh but has a certainly nice pace, barely functional but its cast does well with the script and it's a movie to enjoy on a Sunday without anything better to watch.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

markvantpark

Nov 29, 2015

Very slow boring movie
with no action, and with a plot hard to get at the end.
I rolled the film forward after 50 mins.
John Travolta poor and timed performance.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

ourtimehascome

Mar 3, 2017

Criminal Activities marks Jackie Earle Haley's directorial debut. It is infuriating in its unoriginal quality. The plot and characters are unabashed Tarantino knockoffs, neither used to their full potential. What's worse are the often poor performances, with major players including HaleyCriminal Activities marks Jackie Earle Haley's directorial debut. It is infuriating in its unoriginal quality. The plot and characters are unabashed Tarantino knockoffs, neither used to their full potential. What's worse are the often poor performances, with major players including Haley himself, Michael Pitt and even John Travolta. The only saving grace is Edi Gathegi, elevating above everyone else in his role as a simple drug dealer.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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