Chris Hemsworth stars in ‘Crime 101’. Picture Credit score: Merrick Morton.
Opening in theaters on February thirteenth is the brand new crime thriller ‘Crime 101’, written and directed by Bart Layton (‘American Animals’) and starring Chris Hemsworth (‘Thor’), Halle Berry (‘X-Males’), Mark Ruffalo (‘The Avengers’), Barry Keoghan (‘Eternals’), Monica Barbaro (‘Prime Gun: Maverick’), Corey Hawkins (‘Straight Outta Compton’), Jennifer Jason Leigh (‘The Hateful Eight’) and Nick Nolte (’48 Hrs.’).
Launch Date: Feb 13, 2026
Run Time: 2 hr 19 min
Associated Article: Chris Hemsworth and Halle Berry Speak New Crime Thriller ‘Crime 101’
Preliminary Ideas
Halle Berry stars in ‘Crime 101’. Picture Credit score: Merrick Morton.
‘Crime 101’ actually desires to be Michael Mann’s ‘Warmth’ (and possibly a few of his ‘Thief’ as nicely). Not that there’s something improper with that; epic crime thrillers are few and much between today, and writer-director Bart Layton’s 140-minute L.A.-based drama has a variety of the scope and a glittering solid to make a run at it.
Based mostly on gritty style author Don Winslow’s 2020 novella of the identical title, ‘Crime 101’ doesn’t fairly hit the heights of Mann’s 31-year-old masterpiece – it’s patterned nearly too carefully on that movie’s narrative, for one factor, and it takes far too lengthy to set itself up and at last get to the good things. However when it does work – due to some terrific work from a few of that solid – ‘Crime 101’ will be suspenseful and absorbing.
Story and Course
(L to R) Mark Ruffalo and Chris Hemsworth star in ‘Crime 101’. Picture Credit score: Merrick Morton.
A mysterious man named Davis (Chris Hemsworth) is committing a collection of flawlessly executed heists – primarily of valuable jewels — up and down the size of California’s 101 freeway, from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles. Cautious to not hurt a single particular person throughout his crimes, Davis can also be lonely, remoted, and socially awkward, together with his solely objective to succeed in a sure sum of cash and his previous shrouded in shadows.
Whereas many of the LAPD squad assigned to the robberies simply desires to shut them out, Detective Lou Lubesnick (Mark Ruffalo) sees a sample in them and is satisfied it’s one man, annoying his superiors. His investigation brings him into the orbit of Sharon Coombs (Halle Berry), a claims adjuster whose insurance coverage agency handles the sort of high-end purchasers who’re taking a success from Davis’ heists.
When Davis targets one other of Coombs’ purchasers for what he hopes is his remaining job, that places Coombs on his radar as nicely – however unbeknownst to Davis, his personal benefactor (Nick Nolte) has put a second operator on the job, a psychotic, violent man-child named Ormon (Barry Keoghan) who doesn’t share Davis’ ethical code or any hesitation to harm and kill.
(L to R) Monica Barbaro and Chris Hemsworth star in ‘Crime 101’. Picture Credit score: Dean Rogers.
‘Crime 101,’ as with Winslow’s different works and the movies that Layton emulates, walks the well-worn grey space of many against the law movie the place the strains between the criminals and the ‘good guys’ are sometimes blurry and the place thieves usually have codes of honor which are examined to the breaking level by different forces. However an issue right here that hampers ‘Crime 101’ is that it by no means creates a persistently rising sense of rigidity for portion of the movie. Setup takes up a big chunk of its first half, and the narrative finds itself happening multiple blind alley.
There’s extra consideration paid to character growth, however solely selectively, and sometimes in ways in which appear incongruous. However the film does come to life in suits and begins, together with a pulse-pounding automobile and bike chase involving Davis and Ormon, another scenes involving the latter, and nearly the entire third act, as Davis, Lubesnick, Ormon and others are all drawn into Davis’ rigorously calibrated plan. Layton additionally makes good use of actual Los Angeles areas, from downtown to Malibu, successfully making town very a lot a personality itself, though Blanck Mass’ heavy-handed rating, all synths and thunderous drums, works too arduous so as to add further gravitas.
Forged and Performances
(L to R) Chris Hemsworth and Halle Berry star in ‘Crime 101’. Picture Credit score: Merrick Morton.
Surprisingly sufficient, the weakest element of the all-star solid right here could also be its main man. Hemsworth’s Davis is a curiously flat character – and whereas a lot of his background is deliberately left murky, there’s not sufficient for Hemsworth to work with, rendering him sort of a clean. Additionally unhelpful is his nearly full lack of chemistry with Berry and particularly Monica Barbaro, who exhibits up within the Amy Brenneman function from ‘Warmth’ – the love curiosity who modifications the thief’s perspective – and brings her personal appreciable magnetism in spades, even in a usually underwritten and inventory function.
Regardless of wanting like he simply got here proper from the ‘Process’ set to this movie – his rumpled, exhausted cops are nearly indistinguishable – Mark Ruffalo brings his standard wounded dignity and innate decency to the function of Lou, who you possibly can’t assist however love due to his dogged dedication and, uh, makes an attempt at yoga (too dangerous Jennifer Jason Leigh is wasted fully and barely seen as his estranged spouse).
The movie’s MVPs, nevertheless, are Berry and Keoghan. The previous is electrical as a hard-working, quick-witted lady pushed to the brink by her obnoxious, sexist bosses, whereas the latter is genuinely scary and unpredictable because the wild card psycho Ormon. Although we’ve just about had sufficient Joker in latest Batman films, Keoghan nearly makes us need to see his cameoing Clown Prince of Crime from ‘The Batman’ present up once more in Matt Reeves’ upcoming sequel.
Ultimate Ideas
Chris Hemsworth stars in ‘Crime 101’. Picture Credit score: Dean Rogers.
Bart Layton undoubtedly will get an ‘A’ for effort with ‘Crime 101’ – he actually desires to make the sort of advanced, morally ambivalent, tense, adult-oriented thriller that’s more durable to glimpse on the multiplex today than an influencer staying off their cellphone for the whole size of a film.
But Layton makes his melodrama nearly too sophisticated; cautious pruning of some subplots and sequences – he apparently likes one slowly rotating opening shot of the title motorway a lot that he does it once more later within the movie – might need jacked up the tempo and added extra urgency to the proceedings. Nonetheless, whereas ‘Crime 101’ is just not the epic crime drama the director-writer might have had in thoughts, it nonetheless manages to generate sufficient warmth of its personal to maintain one .
‘Crime 101’ receives a rating of 70 out of 100.
Corey Hawkins and Mark Ruffalo star in ‘Crime 101’. Picture Credit score: Merrick Morton.
What’s the plot of ‘Crime 101’?
As an elusive jewel thief (Chris Hemsworth) mystifies police with a string of heists alongside the 101 freeway in Los Angeles, his path crosses that of a disillusioned insurance coverage dealer (Halle Berry) who’s going through her personal crossroads. Because the thief plans one remaining heist, a relentless detective (Mark Ruffalo) is closing in, elevating the stakes even greater for all three.
Who’s within the solid of ‘Crime 101’?
- Chris Hemsworth as Mike Davis
- Halle Berry as Sharon Colvin
- Mark Ruffalo as Detective Lou Lubesnick
- Barry Keoghan as Ormon
- Monica Barbaro as Maya
- Corey Hawkins as Detective Tillman
- Jennifer Jason Leigh as Angie
- Nick Nolte as Cash
- Tate Donovan as Steven Monroe
- Payman Maadi as Sammy Kassem
- Drew Powell as Det. Townsend
- Matthew Del Negro as Police Captain Stewart
Halle Berry attends the European Gala Screening for Amazons: ‘Crime 101’ at Odeon Luxe Leicester Sq. on January 28, 2026 in London, England. Picture: Kate Inexperienced/Getty Photographs for Amazon MGM Studios and Sony Footage Leisure.
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