[15][16] Erin Thompson of the Seattle Weekly said the song "takes a breather from aggressive, wall-to-wall synths, driven instead by a steady guitar rhythm and an oddly Asian folky-sounding flute melody.".

[17] "Criminal" is reminiscent of the music of ABBA and Madonna, and the latter's albums Ray of Light (1998) and American Life (2003), according to David Buchanan of Consequence of Sound and Samesame.com.au, respectively.

[18] Thompson stated that Spears's vocals are less processed than on the rest of the album, while according to Amy Sciarretto they are "heavily Auto-Tuned and studio-treated, [...] she delivers her lines in a monotone, robotic fashion.

Gill also said that the album sounds more programmed than natural, commenting that "indeed, such is the shock when the final track, 'Criminal', opens with a little folksong-style flute and guitar figure that one's immediate reaction is that a Midlake soundfile has been accidentally appended to Britney's running-order.

"[24] Erin Thompson of the Seattle Weekly called it her best vocal performance of the album, and added that "it has a spark and a mischievous sass to it – and these days anytime Britney shows even just a bit of her old liveliness and independence, we like it.

"[17] Rudy Klapper of Sputnikmusic commented the song "isn't exactly the progressive stylings of a Janelle Monáe [sic], but damn if it's not catchy and interesting.

Club's Genevieve Koski claimed that the album "[i]s not all dance-floor narcotics", adding that "Inside Out", "Till the World Ends" and "Criminal" "add texture to the wall-to-wall synth waves and booty bass.

"[26] Robert Copsey of Digital Spy said the production of Femme Fatale is "polished, intriguing and – best of all – fun", exemplifying "Inside Out", the piano breakdown in "Big Fat Bass" and the flute in "Criminal".

[27] No Ripcord's Gary McGinley stated that Femme Fatale "is so synth-led that hearing the simple guitar lines on Criminal and He's About To Lose Me (from the Deluxe Edition) is refreshing.

"[28] Natalie Shaw of the BBC Online commented that "Criminal" "with its teenage lyrics [...] on top of a fairytale flute melody and a rhythm so summery it manages to completely set itself free from the rest of the album.

"[29] David Buchanan of Consequence of Sound found that Femme Fatale "is entirely rescued by backtracking to Circus-style material, with Rihanna-esque 'Gasoline', and the Ray Of Light-era Madonna influence in closing song 'Criminal'.

[19] Katherine St Asaph of Popdust said that as "a bad-boy track, it at least makes a bit more lyrical sense than 'Judas' and is more vulnerable than her past few singles, which is probably a good career move.

"[18] Los Angeles Times writer Carl Wilson stated that the album's momentum "flags only on the closing 'Criminal', with its formless Renaissance fair flute line and a tempo [that is] joyless".

[31] Eric R. Danton of the Hartford Courant deemed the song as "an eye-rolling homage to those oh-so-attractive bad boys that good girls lust for in spite of themselves.

[10] Following the release of Femme Fatale, "Criminal" reached number fifty-one on South Korea's Gaon international chart, due to digital sales.

[39][40] "Criminal" also achieved moderate success in Europe, reaching the top-twenty in Slovakia, Czech Republic, Finland and France, and the top-forty in Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, and both regions of Belgium.

[47] He persuades her to smile to avoid embarrassment from the guests then verbally abuses her and grabs her face, after which she leaves to the restroom, where she wipes away a tear and puts on her fragrance Radiance.

As they change clothes, several policemen then appear outside the criminal's house; they start shooting it with Heckler & Koch MP5's as Spears and the man embrace, kissing passionately.

The Council told London Tonight that they had not agreed to the use of replica guns at Stoke Newington Town Hall, and that they would be raising the matter with the production company.

Councillor Ian Rathbone added that Spears should apologize and make a sizeable donation to a Hackney charity "for the rudeness and damage she's done to this community."

When asked if she thought the council was overreacting, Hackney MP Diane Abbott insisted: "It is only a music video but it's images like this, with popstars glamorising gangs, which means that some young people... get drawn in.

"[53] On September 26, 2011, Spears' representatives released a statement to MTV News saying, "The video is a fantasy story featuring Britney's boyfriend, Jason Trawick, which literally plays out the lyrics of a song written three years before the riots ever happened.

[61][62] Becky Bain of Idolator called it "an epic mini-movie, full of romance, intrigue [...] [with] a whole lot of unnecessary PDA between Brit and her beau.

"[63] Kenneth Partridge of AOL commented, "Packed with sex, violence and questionable acting, the new Britney Spears video, 'Criminal,' has all the trappings of a midnight movie.

[48] Erin Strecker Entertainment Weekly also called it the best video of the album, and highlighted Spears' look, the ending scene and the "fun story".

[49] Sarah Dean of the UK edition of The Huffington Post said: "If having a blonde, leather-clad superstar brandishing a gun at a shop owner's face isn't glamourising violence, I'm not sure what is" and added that, in essence, the video "seems more like an opportunity for her to live out her sexual fantasies than anything beneficial to music fans.

"[69] Alyssa Rosenberg of ThinkProgress said that although it is common to see pop stars being assaulted by men in their videos —exemplifying Rihanna's "Man Down"— the public is aware of Spears's vulnerability, explaining that "we believe she really would choose a guy who would do something like this to her."

[53][70] Among the similarities, critics noted that they were both filmed in the United Kingdom and arose controversy in the country; both contain scenes of sex, violence and crime; both feature bad boy archetypes and both evoke the personal lives of the artists.

She explained that there is a tendency among writers and spectators to call "her every smile plastered on or conservator-mandated", and that the fact the line is delivered by her abusive boyfriend only makes it more evident.

Alexandra noted that Spears and Rihanna chose to films their "grittiest videos" in a country with a lower crime rate than the United States, that is also so against guns that politicians felt the need to talk about it.