“Crime 101” Film Review/Opinion

My wife and I watched this on a date night. In truth, it wasn’t a film I was particularly eager to see, but I was curious. Would it be entertaining?

While the pacing and story are slow to get going, the film gradually builds a solid story foundation for what follows. Three lead characters with individual storylines eventually converge, played by Chris Hemsworth as the thief, Mark Ruffalo as the detective and Halle Berry as the broker. Barry Keoghan and Nick Nolte also feature.

A Los Angeles detective pursues an elusive thief who teams up with an insurance broker for one last heist.

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This thriller offers a strong blend of action and drama to keep you engaged, along with well-written plot. The performances are excellent, and all three lead actors are particularly captivating in their roles.

At 2 hours 10 minutes, the film delivers plenty of twists, turns and unexpected moments (particularly at the end), maintaining a sense of intelligence and logic throughout. It does demand attention throughout though, as parts of the conclusion and the reasoning behind certain decisions might not be entirely clear otherwise.

The sound, music and cinematography are all superb. This classic crime caper is based on a book and directed by Bart Layton, already in my top five cinema releases of 2026. Very entertaining and reminiscent of a 1970s crime thriller, with clear potential for a second film.