'Crime 101' Review: A Rock-Solid, Old Fashioned Crime Thriller
After a long absence, writer/director Bart Layton is back with ‘Crime 101’, a refreshing and old fashioned crime thriller that thankfully doesn’t waste a tremendously good cast.
‘Crime 101’ centers on an elusive thief (Chris Hemsworth) who crosses paths with an insurance broker (Halle Berry) who is at a crossroads in her life and career. As the two link up and begin to plan a multi-million dollar heist, a seasoned police detective (Mark Ruffalo) is tracking them down in order to put a stop to the crime. Filling out the rest of the impressive cast is Barry Keoghan, Corey Hawkins, and Nick Nolte.
After making a notable name for himself with his first two features The Imposter and American Animals, Layton is tackling his first fully fictional story based on the novella by Don Winslow. Fortunately, Layton’s singular voice shines through and takes a story audiences have seen countless times and tackles it from a fresh perspective, delivering a crime thriller that feels ripped out of the nineties or early two thousands in the best ways possible. Visually, the film is striking, the pairing of Layton’s directorial precision and Erik Wilson’s striking cinematography making for. a match made in heaven. There are heavy, loving shades of Heat, Collateral and even Drive, making LA feel like a compelling backdrop and character in and of itself.
The film’s propulsive and immersive action sequences are largely practical, allowing these set pieces to have much more punch than most modern action films. The car chases and shootouts feel raw, unpredictable and wholly authentic, allowing the viewer to feel as if they’re in the passenger seat or cowering behind the counter of a jewelry store. In another director’s hands, these sequences could’ve easily been overrun by green screen and CGI, but in Layton’s, authenticity is the name of the game and this works to the film’s benefit tremendously. Every gun shot, punch and thumping of the gas pedal carries the weight it should.
Layton has assembled a murderer’s row of talent for his third feature and thankfully he manages to glean terrific performances out of each member of the cast. Hemsworth delivers a performance he has never given before, playing a thief who is far more comfortable living in the skin of someone he’s not than that of his own. His posture, mannerisms, and even the timbre of his voice lend wonderfully to a character who may be great at what he does, but is incredibly insecure and unsure of himself. The beloved Australian actor continues to showcase he’s far more than a thunder-wielding Marvel hero. Berry also delivers her most compelling work in years here, effectively showcasing a woman whose success and life overall are at a standstill. Her scenes with Hemsworth crackle, especially when she’s able to easily see through his flimsy facade. She has a monologue in this film that is more than worthy of an audience applause break.
The other supporting performances from Ruffalo and Keoghan are also very strong, the former continuing to prove he may be the best choice to play any breed of detective character and the latter once again showcasing his ability to be a genre chameleon, the unpredictability of his choices lending perfectly to a character whose every move and decision feels entirely improvised. Throw in a fiery, commanding performance from Nolte as Hemsworth’s handler of sorts and you have a film populated not only by fantastic performances, but colorful, eclectic and deeply fascinating characters that weave perfectly into its moody tapestry.
While the story is mostly engrossing, there are facets of the narrative that feel a little too convenient or predictable for its own good. The film, which clocks in at nearly two and half hours, also overstays its welcome a smidge, spinning its wheels far too much before resolving the story and wrapping up the arcs of its central characters. As a result, this isn’t a crime thriller that reinvents the wheel, but it’s still a well-oiled, handsomely crafted machine.
Crime 101 is the kind of crime thriller audiences don’t get much of anymore, especially in theaters. Layton has crafted an atmospheric, tightly-plotted, and immersive film that should give genre fans plenty to chew on and savor. As saddening as it is to say as a compliment in 2026, this is a feature that looks and feels like an actual film, yearning to be seen on the big screen with an audience. Though this film may drop during a very crowded Valentine’s Day weekend at the box office, it’s more than deserving of attention. Many may classify this one as a perfect “dad movie”, but at the end of the day it’s simply a damn good film.