So far, early 2026 has been a boon for dude/dad movies. Between Jason Statham being a badass and Jason Mamoa and Bautista being brothers blowing people up, we go into February with Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, and Halle Berry in a very Heat inspired crime thriller. Crime 101 is a movie about a jewelry thief and a detective on his case in the streets of Los Angeles, particularly the 101 freeway. It feels like Heat is more influential now than ever. As we get to thirty years since its release, its shadow has only grown. Why bring this up? Well, Crime 101 owes a lot to Heat, and that’s okay.
Bart Layton wrote and directed this film based on a novella by Don Winslow that came out in 2020. This film is a solid piece of filmmaking with some very creative shots from camera placements that you don’t normally see and especially don’t see often in crime movies. Erik Wilson is the cinematographer; he should be applauded for how he shoots LA. We get shots that feel like LA, but also aren’t the same areas you see in most movies that take place there. The way light is used feels like bringing a secret out into the light. It has a good gritty texture with the night scenes and great use of close-ups.
Chris Hemsworth’s Mike Davis is a bit of a different type of performance and character for Hemsworth, at least to me. It’s not like his Extraction character, and it’s far from Thor. Mike is a very ordered and controlled person. He’s guarded and focused on his tasks, and he wants people not to get hurt. He’s good at what he does, but he doesn’t have that dog in him, and a lot of the movie is about people noticing this and how they can get out of the game before it’s too late. You gotta love a heist movie about one last score.
Mark Ruffalo is playing Det. Lou Lubesnick is a very familiar role for Ruffalo; we’ve literally seen him play these types of cops before, but it doesn’t matter; he can keep on playing because he’s great at it. I’m surprised he hasn’t played Colombo yet, and this guy will remind you of that type of police detective. More focused on finding the right criminal than just clearing up board and closing cases to make sure the numbers are good. This puts him at odds with his department and even his partner, Det. Tillman, played very charismatically and with the right touches of humor by Corey Hawkins. His plotline and how it ties together with the other two main characters is the glue of the whole story, and a lot of the tension is built through him, and he’s great at it.
Halle Berry’s Sharon Colvin is the clearest character you’re supposed to empathize with completely. It’s through her character’s world that the film opens through sound. Her character isn’t a cop or thief but an insurance broker for rich people, and in some ways, it’s how we get the connection of all this to the normal world, and it makes you question if what Mike is doing is actually bad. I liked her performance as this overlooked woman in this company, navigating the patriarchy and sexism of all these terrible rich men. It takes a bit for her plotline to connect to everything else completely, but when it does, the film’s tension does start to ramp up well.
I like Barry Keoghan in most things because of his takes on the characters, but his character here, Ormon, who is Mike’s rival in this film, starts well but has a pretty disappointing resolution. This Ormon is very inspired by Ryan Gosling’s character from A Place Beyond The Pines, and in this film, he reminded me of a Hyena the whole time—just this uneasy boiling knot of rage and ambition. Always a threat even when he’s around Mike, who’s very much bigger, but as I said, doesn’t have that dog in him. Ormon got that DOG in him. It was good to see Nick Nolte as Money, Mike’s fence, and the person who gets him jobs. He’s in it for not a lot of time, but he brings some edge and harshness to his scenes. Monica Barbaro plays Maya, Mike’s love interest, and she doesn’t get to do much at all, and she feels kind of wasted there. She deserved more. I don’t want to forget Drew Powell, who plays Det. Townsend, one of the Detectives that Ruffalo’s Lou doesn’t like, and being that he played the most hated character in The Pitt during the first season, he brings that same energy here. Great job, man.
Yeah, I did like Crime 101 a lot, and it hit all the notes you want from a movie like this, as I stated earlier. At the same time, it’s not something that will surprise you with its twists and turns; it’s like a good, solid meal that will have you satisfied when you’re finished. All the leads are good, and it’s a movie I’d enjoy watching again in the future.
Rating: B
Level of Enthusiasm: 85%
