Chris Hemsworth Is A Smooth Criminal In “Crime 101” [Review]
This slow-burn coastal noir is definitely one of the most entertaining and thoughtful crime thrillers of recent years.
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What drives someone to commit a crime?
What makes someone cross the boundaries of ethics and morale? What pushes a person far enough to transgress societal principles?
In Bart Layton’s latest crime thriller, Crime 101 (2026), solving the puzzle becomes more than just figuring out who did it, but what motivated them to do it in the first place.
A character-driven, cool, coastal noir that moves with precision and poetry, Crime 101 tells the story of Mike (Chris Hemsworth), an elusive jewel thief whose string of heists have left the police baffled.
He crosses paths with Sharon (Halle Berry), a disillusioned insurance broker whose years of hard work and dedication constantly amount to nothing in the patriarchal corporate structure. Mike brokers a deal with Sharon, offering her something substantial via a rather unconventional route — theft.
Detective Lou (Mark Ruffalo) is relentless in getting to the bottom of these crimes, and finds a pattern that’s worth going after — all the crimes happen along the 101 freeway. Ormon (Barry Keoghan) is another thief under Mike’s fence, Money (Nick Nolte), who gets entangled in this web in a bloodthirsty attempt to prove his worth.
This game of cat-and-mouse balances nerve-tight tension with unexpected emotional weight and magnetic performances, especially from Barry Keoghan and Chris Hemsworth.
If you’re looking for a crime thriller that’s mostly brawn and little brains, Crime 101 is not for you. This film is a masterclass in pacing — yes, it’s lengthy at 2 hours 20 mins, but not draggy and unnecessary.
From the moment the film opens we see this beautiful night skyline of Los Angeles slowly turned upside down, with a tape recording of morning affirmations being played in the background. It’s as if the film is telling us that no matter how much these characters try to stay grounded, everything eventually turns on its head.
Chris Hemsworth is brilliant as Mike.
His hard, hollow gaze says a lot about him — he is a broken man with an unstable and painful past who’s just using the world to eventually run away from it.
His principles are clear. He may commit serious crimes but there is never violence involved in any of them. His primary motivation is actually just financial stability, and he literally spells this out when on a date with Maya (Monica Barbaro). He is an enigma, because despite all the dirt on him, he is actually a pretty clean man.
Keoghan as Ormon, on the other hand, does not mind the dirty tags on him.
He is deeply troubled — as one definitely is if he’s trying to establish an identity as a thief — but he is much more unreserved in his ways. He is messy because he has no boundaries, no guiding principles he abides by other than getting the job done to earn validation.
The Ruffalo-Hemsworth pairing works perfectly.
Ruffalo is an amazing Detective Lou — his shifty demeanor against Mike’s calculated nature is thrilling to watch.
Det. Lou’s motivations mirror Ormon’s in some ways. Underneath all the rigor and determination of solving the case, he is trying to establish his sense of self-worth after a failed marriage by holding on to the facet of his identity that remains — a capable police detective.
Halle Berry as Sharon is the literal embodiment of most female experiences.
She’s put in the time, effort, and sacrificed herself at the altar of career, expecting to taste the fruits of her labor. But the system betrays her, time and time again, just like it did Mike. So when Mike entices her with a loophole, she eventually pulls the string — not because she is a criminal, but because she’s tired of being screwed over.
This is what makes Mike and Sharon so similar to each other. Their motivations tell us about who they are. Mike and Sharon are both products of systems that failed and betrayed them, and turning to alternative paths seemed like the only viable option to scrape what’s left of their dignity.
Bart Layton certainly gave us one of the most entertaining and thoughtful crime thrillers of recent years.
Crime 101 is very reminiscent of Michael Mann’s Heat (1995). But it holds its own weight, and for that I think it makes one of the greatest watches of the year, despite it being early 2026.
Crime 101 is playing in cinemas nationwide.
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