Crime 101 invents absolutely nothing. But I wish more thrillers like this were made

Crime 101 is a good action film. Elegant and dry. Very much in the vein of Heat, although it comes nowhere near those heights.  

But the thing is, being compared to Heat, is already a compliment in itself. Because we are talking about one of the three best thrillers in history. If you get even slightly close, it means you have something good on your hands.

And it is good because it is shot with taste, because Chris Hemsworth is more restrained than usual — I did not spend the film thinking about Thor — and because Mark Ruffalo is excellent, with that tired, human and stubborn cop edge the film needs for the cat-and-mouse game to carry some weight.

The feeling it leaves me with is quite positive. It will not redefine the genre or appear on many best-of-the-year lists, but over its lengthy two hours it offers something I miss more and more: an old-school action thriller, with adults doing adult things, no jokes shoehorned in and none of that very modern need to underline everything because we are looking at our phones while the TV is on in the background.

What Crime 101 is about

The film revolves around a jewel thief played by Chris Hemsworth. A methodical, elegant guy obsessed with making every job clean. He is not the chaotic criminal who storms in firing shots, but exactly the opposite: someone who studies, calculates, prepares and executes.

On the other side is the character played by Mark Ruffalo, a cop who spots a pattern behind a series of apparently unrelated robberies. He is not the infallible super-detective, but a man with craft, wear and tear, and that intuition that does not come from being smarter than everyone else, but from spending too many years looking where others do not.

Between them appears Halle Berry, as a female counterpoint and an intermediate piece within that world of thieves, insurers and money. Her character is not the heart of the film, but she brings presence and balance.

From there, Crime 101 plays with a very recognizable structure: robberies, investigation, rising tension and the shadow of one last job. Nothing you have not seen before. But here the value lies in how it tells it.

The best of Crime 101

A film running over two hours that does not bore you has to be doing something right. And I can confirm that you will find several good things here.

A thriller with a 90s tone

The best thing about the film is that procedures, glances, silences and the way the characters move through the city matter. 

It does not need to run at 200 miles an hour all the time with epileptic editing, nor turn every scene into a joke.

It is a much more 90s-stylethriller, one that takes itself seriously. In a certain way, in the line of End of Watch, reviewed here a few days ago, although without that film's handheld camera and fake-documentary tone.

The heists are among the best things in it: clean, precise, almost surgical. The film understands that a robbery can have tension without turning into a fireworks fair. It is enough for you to understand the plan, know where it can go wrong and feel that every step matters.

Chris Hemsworth away from the superhero

It is not that he gives the performance of his life, but he works well within the film. As I said above, I did not think of Thor while watching him, which is a good compliment for an actor so strongly associated with such a huge character.

He is restrained. He has presence, but he does not overact. His thief works because he seems like someone who has built an identity around control. And when the film scratches a little beneath that surface, it finds something there too, and the character gains interest.

Barry Keoghan provides an interesting contrast. Against Hemsworth's elegant thief, his character introduces a more negative and nervous energy. He gets down into the mud and helps the criminal world feel less overly polished.

Mark Ruffalo and Halle Berry raise the level

I really liked Ruffalo. His character could have been the textbook obsessive cop, but he gives him tiredness, humanity and a kind of quiet sadness that suits him very well. He is not playing a genius. He is playing a guy who knows how to do his job and who, for that very reason, cannot let what is in front of him go.

Halle Berry is good. She is not what you will remember most about the film, but her presence balances a story heavily marked by masculine codes.

What I liked least

The plot is predictable. Very. But the film's strength is not in the impossible twist or the final surprise, but in its overall development, so it does not matter too much either.

It is also true that it could have trimmed a little from its more than two-hour running time.

This type of thriller usually works better when it tightens its jaw and cuts the fat. It becomes a better action thriller in exchange for being less “transcendent”. Let everyone choose what they prefer.

In that sense, Halle Berry's storyline contributes something to the plot, but it feels more like an excuse to put a pretty woman on screen than anything else.  

The film works best when it focuses on the robbery, the chase and the codes of its two protagonists.

The shadow of Heat is long

It is impossible to watch it and not think of Heat. The relationship between thief and cop, the city, the tone, the criminal elegance, the professional codes… All of that is there. And the film does not seem especially interested in hiding it.

It is not a problem per se. The problem would be going in expecting something similar. But the thing is Heat plays in a practically unreachable league.  

Seen for what it is, a smaller film heavily influenced by that kind of cinema, the truth is that it does not disappoint at all.

Verdict

Crime 101 is a good minor film. And I mean that as praise. An ideal one for having a properly entertaining time without thinking about what you will do afterwards or the next day.

It has arguments in its favor: a convincing Hemsworth, a terrific Ruffalo, well-designed heists and an adult atmosphere that is appreciated. 

That said, it is also predictable and a little long. But even its debt to Heat speaks well of it: at least it knows which mirror it wants to look into.

It does not reach those levels. Very few films can.

But I wish more thrillers were made like this.

Crime 101 technical sheet

Exact title	Crime 101
Year	2026
Runtime	Around 140 minutes
Director	Bart Layton
Main cast	Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Halle Berry, Barry Keoghan, Monica Barbaro, Corey Hawkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nick Nolte
Official genre	Thriller / Action
Country	United Kingdom-United States co-production
Available on	Prime Video / digital platforms
Are there spoilers?	Light spoilers about the premise, without spoiling the plot
Rating	3.5/5