Crime 101 (2026) Amazon MGM/Action-Thriller RT: 140 minutes Rated R (language throughout, some violence, sexual material/nudity) Director: Bart Layton Screenplay: Bart Layton Music: Blanck Mass Cinematography: Erik Wilson Release date: February 13, 2026 (US) Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, Halle Berry, Monica Barbaro, Corey Hawkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nick Nolte, Tate Donovan, Devon Bostick, Crosby Fitzgerald, Andra Nechita, Payman Maadi, Babak Tafti, Payam Banifaz, Deborah Hedwall, Paul Adelstein, Drew Powell, Matthew Del Negro, John Douglas.
Rating: ***
Something most unexpected happened this week. I made the conscious decision not to attend this week’s AMC Screen Unseen feature. I found out what it was going to be and decided to pass on it as I had zero interest. I won’t say what it was, but it’s based on a webseries from two decades ago, one I never heard of until a few days ago. It sounded like something I’d regret investing two hours of my life in, so I swapped out those reservations for a special advance showing of the crime thriller Crime 101 instead. I’m so glad I did. It’s quite good.
Written and directed by Bart Layton (American Animals), Crime 101 is the kind of movie they don’t make anymore, a stylish and sleek adult-oriented crime thriller driven by plot and characters rather than noise and flashy FX. It owes a huge debt to Michael Mann’s 1995 crime drama Heat in how it draws parallels between the lives of the criminal and the cop trying to catch him. Layton delves into their personal lives, depicting them as actual people as opposed to one-dimensional character types. It’s not even about heroes and villains; it’s about people on different sides of law. They’re morally complex. There is no black and white in their world, only different shades of gray.
Crime 101 opens with professional jewel thief Mike Davis (Hemsworth, Thor) pulling off a diamond heist. It involves following the carriers and striking at the exact right moment. He executes it flawlessly. It’s just one of several jobs he’s pulled along the 101 freeway. He’s been getting away with it for some time. He plans every detail meticulously. He drives nondescript vehicles. He covers his face. He never hurts anybody during the commission of the robberies. He never leaves any DNA evidence. The police don’t even realize the thefts are connected. This guy is flying under the radar. He’d like to keep it that way while he does just one last job. He wants out of this life.
The only one who sees the pattern is Detective Lou Lubesnick (Ruffalo, The Avengers), a smart cop and quite possibly the last honest one in L.A. His colleagues dismiss his theory. It’s not convenient. All the PD cares about is closing cases; it doesn’t matter if they arrest the right person. He’s expected to fall in line with his fellow cops. He won’t; he has too much integrity for that. Consequently, he’s viewed as a troublemaker and a loser. None of this deters Lou from his investigation.
You could say that the two men are linked by a mutual acquaintance, high-end insurance broker Sharon Colvin (Berry, Monster’s Ball). She’s been working for the same company for 11 years for a boss who consistently reneges on his promise to make her a partner. She’s hit a glass ceiling and is plenty pissed off about it. A non-chance encounter with Mike leads to him asking her to work with him. She initially balks, but reconsiders after it’s made clear where she stands at work. Sharon first meets Lou when he picks her brain about insurance-related claims. They meet again in a yoga class and strike up a friendship of sorts.
The other major character in Crime 101 is Ormon (Keoghan, Saltburn), a violent and unhinged thief hired by aged crime boss Money (Nolte, Run All Night) to replace Mike after the latter refuses a job for being too risky. Ormon takes the job (a jewelry store) and it goes exactly as you expect, badly. He leaves behind a mess of smashed cases and injured persons. He then tails Mike in order to learn the details of the job he’s planning. This guy is a loose cannon of the highest order.
There’s a lot going on in Crime 101. In addition to the heist stuff, Mike attempts to make an emotional connection with Maya (Barbaro, A Complete Unknown), a pretty public relations rep he meets after she rear-ends his car. It’s new terrain for a man used to emotional detachment. Now that he plans to retire, he might have room for a real relationship. This plot line is well developed. I can’t say that for all of them. A questionable police shooting is introduced only to be dropped a few scenes later. Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight) shows up for a single scene as Lou’s soon-to-be ex. A few more scenes would have been nice.
People will invariably complain about the film’s run time (140 minutes) and leisurely pace. I am not one of those people. Quite the opposite, I wanted more. Apparently, Layton had to cut it down prior to release. I’d love to see an extended cut of Crime 101. There’s more story to tell. During the Q&A, Berry spoke about a scene she worked hard on only for it to be cut. I want to see that!
Stylistically, Crime 101 is amazing thanks to the cool, crisp cinematography by Erik Wilson and a moody, electronic score by Blanck Mass. It evokes the Michael Mann movies of the 80s (mostly Thief). The shots of nighttime L.A. lend it atmosphere. It has a few fancy visual flourishes, but they never come off as showy.
The performances are uniformly great from Hemsworth’s emotionally distant thief to Ruffalo’s rumpled detective. They have this great scene together where they discuss cars and the inherent coolness of Steve McQueen. Berry does incredible work as Sharon, a woman finding it harder to contain the workplace anger she’s been repressing for years. Barbaro does nice work as Maya, a girl who just wants to understand a man not inclined to divulge personal details. Keoghan practically steals the show as the unstable criminal. The man is a real live wire.
Despite a few storytelling weaknesses, Crime 101 is a solid crime thriller aimed at adults. It’s the kind of movie you see at night. It takes a while to get where it’s going. But during that time, you get a couple of decent car chases and a violent (but believable) finale in a suite at a fancy hotel. It’s definitely a trip worth taking.
