Criminal vs 9 Queens: the ultimate debate
first of all, 9 queens has the advantage of being the first (when comparing same movies, usually first viewing gets an advantage), so criminal has the pressure of outdo the original (although this is not a competition really, it's just a remake)...on the other hand, if it wasn't because 9 queens was SO good, they would never make a remake in the first place.
the thing is Criminal lacked the "magic touch" of acting and screenwriting of 9 queens, the essence, the depth of the plot, the jokes, etc. this is why I think 9 Queens is much better than Criminal, hands down. allow me to back this up:
the casting of criminal: i feel like this could have been a better movie if 2 better actors would have been selected...maybe nicolas cage and eduardo noriega (spanish actor)...just my opinion...what do you think?
john c reilly to diego luna: "you look like a nice guy" WHAT!!! he looks like an inmigrant, unkempt hairy bum! (especially in Beverly Hills!...if you are walking through RODEO DR you would probably evade a guy like this in the street...let alone give him your purse!)
the negotiation skills in criminal: john c. really out of the blue demands 90% of the deal and he gets it just like that, no convincing techniques, no nothing (opposed to ricardo darin in 9 queens). this happens a couple of times.
the dialogue of 9 queens: so powerful (of course, if you know the language you would have appreciated better...i live in puerto rico, i speak spanish, and i absolutely love the script of this movie...the argentinean words used in such a clever and funny (fun) way) in criminal, when diego luna is "convincing the old lady" in mexican, not quite the same feeling: both in spanish, not the same chemistry.
the script: 9 queens is much more elaborated, more in-depht, more jokes, etc. Criminal has some (as opposed to many in 9 queens) good lines in the script: "what's your name...rodrigo...what...ro-dri-go"..."he's gay...that's he's occupation?"..."fuc*ed is when you're handcuffed in the pavement".
the "rita pavone song" in 9 queens: how beautiful, rewarding and clever it was listening in the credits the song he was trying to remember the whole film. "ah, me acordé...credits...the song...genius!" perfect ending to a fantastic con movie, imo. in criminal they make the song reference just once, and that's it, has no importance at all.
for me, it feels like Criminal was done in a one-two-three-let's not even bother about the details to make it special and just emphasize on the twist ending- kind of pace. Criminal feels like a very "simple, edited, short" version of what 9 Queens was.
Because of all this, people should see the difference clearly of the two movies. If you're one of those who prefer Criminal, then prove it with facts. i understand that for many english speakers a reason may be the language factor: a SUBTITLE-version viewing will never feel like a DOLBY SURROUND english audio version (hence might like better Criminal for this matter).
hey, thanks for reading this "review/opinion" on the 2 movies.
replys are much appreciated.
btw, check out my top-lists on my flixster page:
http://guska21.flixster.com
"i don't want to kill anybody...(5 min. later in the story)
...shoot him in the face!" Honey Bunny