Tonight's Movie: Crime 101 (2026)

A pair of Marvel stars, Los Angeles locations, and an interesting trailer pulled me in to see the new heist movie CRIME 101 (2026).

The movie begins with Mike Davis (Chris Hemsworth) pulling off a well-executed diamond heist, though not without some obvious anxiety. His getaway drive through Los Angeles is as well done as the one which opens BABY DRIVER (2017).

Mike, who is careful not to hurt anyone during robberies, angers his elderly but still threatening fence (Nick Nolte) when he turns down a dangerous job in Santa Barbara; Mike thus unknowingly opens the door to the violent Ormon (Barry Keoghan) to step into his place.

As the diamond robbery is investigated we also meet Lou (Mark Ruffalo), a cop struggling to solve a series of jewel robberies, while also dealing with an unsupportive boss (Matthew Del Negro) and a crumbling marriage (to Jennifer Jason Leigh).

And then there's also Sharon (Halle Berry), a high-end insurance saleswoman whose days as scantily clad "bait" to attract wealthy new clients are nearing an end as she heads into her mid 50s.

Ever so slowly the stories of these characters become intertwined, culminating in a grand heist sequence at the Beverly Wilshire.

The movie was written and directed by Bart Layton based on novels by Don Winslow. I found it quite entertaining, if not without several flaws, starting with an overlong run time of two hours and 20 minutes. I never became restless, but at the same time there were scenes, such as Mike's interlude with a call girl, which added nothing to character development or story. The film could easily have cut at least 10 minutes.

It's rather remarkable, given that lengthy running time, that the characters aren't especially layered. Hemsworth comes off best, wordlessly conveying his nerves and loneliness, awkwardly trying to connect with a new girlfriend (a charming Monica Barbaro) while sharing nothing about himself. Mike is half smooth operator and, we sense, half crumbling mess.

Ruffalo's disheveled Lou seems as though he's doing a poor man's COLUMBO imitation; COLUMBO got away with his appearance because he was a genius, but while Lou has better insights into the robberies than his colleagues, he's not good enough to win the respect of his peers.

We never really understand why Lou is disliked by some of the most important people in his life, including his boss and his wife. Only his partner (Corey Hawkins) is loyal, and only up to a point.

We do believe Lou wants justice, which is why he's willing to risk his career butting heads with his supervisor, but unfortunately that makes his final scenes...confusing.

I've frankly never cared for Halle Berry, but I thought she was pitch-perfect here as a woman who thought she was Going Places and suddenly realizes she's definitely not. But again, we know nothing of Sharon's background, other than she's worked hard for eleven years, albeit some of that "work" involving wearing low-cut dresses on behalf of her firm. Sharon seems to have no life outside that job. Why?

The film ultimately suffers from the lack of a truly sympathetic or well-developed lead characters.

And yet, all that said...I had a good time watching it. It's one of those films which is interesting to analyze as you watch, even if the characters come up short. The action scenes are riveting, the chases are well done, and I found it entertaining start to finish, despite the long running time.

Hemsworth is intriguing as a man who wants the stability of money in the bank; he's willing to go to extreme lengths to get it, but at the same time he'll only go so far. And, unlike costar Ruffalo, Hemsworth is extremely easy on the eyes.

I also thoroughly enjoyed recognizing myriad Los Angeles locations, filmed by Erik Wilson. Although the sign was changed, I especially enjoyed recognizing a Denny's I frequently drive past on the 101 in Downtown Los Angeles.

I'll interject that while the locations are great, the movie could have been a lot more colorful. Bland, brown-tinged cinematography seems to be the trend these days. It's interesting to compare it visually to the previously mentioned, very colorful heist movie BABY DRIVER, which is now nearly a decade old.

In the end CRIME 101 is an imperfect movie, but it's also the type of solid-enough, enjoyable film which Hollywood released at a steady pace once upon a time. I enjoy watching "mid-range" movies from older eras all the time, and CRIME 101 went well with my popcorn.

Parental Advisory: This film is rated R. It has a fair amount of cursing (though less than the recently seen THE PAPER from 30 years ago!) and adult situations, though nothing particularly graphic. Violence is also present but muted. Due to a lack of admirable characters or positive lessons learned, I'd personally class this as appropriately rated, for older teens and up.

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