Crime 101 Review: Chris Hemsworth Is A Good Thief In This Enjoyable Crime Thriller Throwback

Embracing cliche and archetypes, Bart Layton's "Crime 101" ultimately succeeds thanks to its old school, familiar charms. Layton's star-studded flick, adapted from the novella by Don Winslow, feels like the type of crime thriller we used to take for granted, back when Hollywood wasn't obsessed with churning out Netflix slop and overly-familiar IP tailor-made for babies. I want to be clear: "Crime 101" is not some future classic, and it lacks the serious edge of the films its drawing inspiration from (Michael Mann's immortal "Heat" being the prime example). But the cast is skilled, the action is engrossing, and up until the final ten or so minutes that overstay their welcome, the film moves at just the right speed. "Crime 101" doesn't reinvent the wheel, and it doesn't have to. It's just has to be a good time at the movies. And it is.

While that title might make you think this is a film about a criminal giving a course at a community college, the "101" in "Crime 101" actually refers to the 101 freeway in Los Angeles, the stomping grounds of Mike Davis, one of the most noble thieves to ever grace the silver screen. Played by handsome hunk Chris Hemsworth, Mike makes his living stealing things of considerable value, but he seems to go out of his way to target wealthy individuals who aren't exactly on the level, and makes sure to never, ever hurt anyone (even though he does point a loaded gun in people's faces).

Hemsworth plays Mike as a shy, awkward professional. He hires high-class sex workers who ask him if he's okay making eye contact, and he has seemingly no friends or family. He also lives in a sparse oceanfront apartment that looks identical to the one Robert De Niro occupied in "Heat," so filmmaker Layton isn't exactly being subtle with his nods and references (later in the film, characters go ahead and start talking about Steve McQueen movies, including "Bullitt" and "The Thomas Crown Affair"). Hemsworth has played this sort of guy before, but he's quite likable here; I bought his "criminal with a heart of gold" performance and found myself rooting for him. Mike isn't greedy and he isn't overtly violent — he just wants to make enough money so he can live without any worries, and who among us can't relate to that?

While Mike is our introduction into the story, "Crime 101" branches out to give us a host of local characters, all of whom end up connecting one way or another. There's Halle Berry as Sharon Colvin, an insurance broker for a firm that handles obscenely wealthy clients. Sharon has been at the same job for 11 years and keeps being told her bosses will make her a partner, but now in her 50s, she's starting to get the sneaking suspicion that she's been strung along all this time. Mark Ruffalo is Detective Lou Lubesnick, a schlubby, worn-out cop who seems to be the only one who realizes Mike's crimes are all connected. And Barry Keoghan plays Ormon, another thief who rides a dirt bike and has no issues hurting people.

Berry's Sharon feels like the only character with multiple dimensions, and she's saddled with some clunky dialogue but manages to make it work. Ruffalo can play this kind of rumpled cop in his sleep (see: David Fincher's best movie, "Zodiac," and the recent "Mare of Easttown"-adjacent "Task"), but he's such a skilled performer that we're happy to go along with him one more time. Keoghan's dirt bike dirtbag has almost no depth to him, but some fun costume design (lots of pinks and bright colors) mixed with bleached hair and the actor's choice to play his villainous character as a whiny, violent brat make him memorable.

There are also a gaggle of ancillary characters, all of whom feel thinly sketched, lurking on the film's periphery. Corey Hawkins plays Lou's partner, who just sort of ... vanishes from the story. The great Jennifer Jason Leigh is wasted in one quick scene as Lou's wife (come on, people, can we give Jennifer Jason Leigh more to do, please?). Old pro Nick Nolte, his voice sounding like he's choking on every word he spits out, makes the most of his small part as Mike's conniving handler. And Monica Barbaro, so enchanting as Joan Baez in "A Complete Unknown," is Maya, whom Mike finds himself falling for after a meet-cute in which their cars literally bump into each other.

Of this secondary group, Barbaro fares the best, which is a testament to her talents because Maya is such an underwhelming character in the end. She's here to merely to pop up in Mike's life and ask him questions about his mysterious past while looking great, but Barbaro brings such a charming, feisty spark to her scenes that she effectively tricks you into thinking Maya is more interesting than she ultimately is. I particularly liked a scene where she and Hemsworth awkwardly slow-dance to Bruce Springsteen's live cover of Tom Waits' "Jersey Girl."

After setting these characters in motion, "Crime 101" moves at a clipped pace as Mike goes about putting together one of those fabled "last jobs" that criminals in these sorts of movies are always about to pull. Needless to say, complications keep arising, threatening to unravel Mike's carefully crafted plans. This leads to a series of action beats, including a well-staged chase scene where Mike drives his classic car after Ormon's dirt bike, the vehicles swerving in and out of traffic at dangerous, breakneck speeds. Layton and cinematographer Erik Wilson are also fond of flipping the camera upside down for eerie establishing shots of L.A. at night, all of this set to an ominous, thrumming score by Blanck Mass.

I've grown so accustomed to high concept and post-irony that I kept expecting "Crime 101" to suddenly switch things up for a silly twist, but the film unfolds at a refreshingly predictable rate. Predictability may not seem fresh, but there's something comforting about watching a crime thriller that's content to deliver a straightforward story without too many bells and whistles. I was pretty much on board from the jump, although the film makes a big miscalculation by giving us a scene that should be the end, only for things to lumber on for another ten unnecessary minutes meant to wrap everything up in a far-too-neat package.

"Crime 101" is the type of sturdy, beginning-of-the-year programmer we don't get much of anymore; it's slick, solid, and filled to the brim with talented actors digging in and making the most of a not-entirely-nutritious meal. I like the stripped-down, no frills approach Layton takes to the material, and I like the little quirks — like how Hemsworth's Mike seems completely socially inept in everyday life, but becomes charming and smooth when he's working. I don't think anyone is going to fondly remember "Crime 101" the way they remember "Heat," but that's okay. Like Hemsworth's noble thief, it gets the job done.

/Film Rating: 6 out of 10

"Crime 101" opens in theaters on February 13, 2026.