Several of my friends had been curious about “Crime 101” and asked me to review it ahead of them seeing it.
So, last weekend, I did just that.
Honestly, it was already on my list to catch based off the stacked main cast members alone.
I think that overall, the story was pretty cliché and featured more violence than I expected.
It had a lot of weird angles to watch and despite the actors at hand, plenty of scenes felt flat.
Crime 101 is a 2026 crime thriller film written and directed by Bart Layton, based on the 2020 novella of the same name by Don Winslow.
It stars Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, Monica Barbaro, Corey Hawkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nick Nolte, Devon Bostwick, and Halle Berry.
The film clocks in at 140 minutes long and is rated R for language throughout, some violence and sexual material/nudity.
In Los Angeles, Mike Davis (Hemsworth) is an elusive and disciplined jewel thief, carefully planning robberies to avoid violence and DNA evidence while escaping via U.S. Route 101.
Intercepting a diamond delivery carrying decoys, he steals $3 million in genuine diamonds, but is shaken after being grazed by an unexpected bullet.
He calls off a planned robbery in Santa Barbara, but his fence Money (Nolte) enlists volatile young biker Ormon (Keoghan) instead.
LAPD Detective Lou Lubesnick (Ruffalo) links the diamond theft to Mike's string of unsolved robberies and suggests a lone suspect is responsible, but his theory is dismissed by his superior.
Preparing another heist, Mike pays a hacker - Devon (Bostwick) - for information on high-end insurance broker Sharon Coombs.
Long undervalued by her firm, Sharon is further frustrated when a new colleague closes a lucrative deal with the wealthy Steven Monroe.
After Ormon violently carries out the Santa Barbara job, Mike cuts ties with Money.
Unfortunately, that leads Money directing Ormon to intercept Mike's next heist to teach him a lesson.
The lonely Mike strikes up a romance with a stranger, Maya (Barbaro) after she rear-ends his car.
He realizes he is being tracked by Ormon, who threatens Devon into revealing that Sharon is connected to Mike's plan.
Sharon rejects Mike's attempt to recruit her as an accomplice and while she’s leaving him at the bar, Mike spots Ormon.
Mike ends up confronting him after a high-speed chase and is soon realizing he has been sent by Money, Mike warns Ormon to stay away.
Separating from his unfaithful wife, Lou finds himself joining the same yoga class that Sharon frequents.
He discovers the car Mike used in the opening diamond robbery, and a miniscule trace of blood inside matches Mike's juvenile record that reveals his birth name - James.
Denied a promotion yet again, Sharon agrees to help Mike.
Demanding a $3 million share, she provides inside information on an illicit diamond purchase Monroe has arranged to make with $11 million in cash, for his upcoming wedding at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.
Lou is suspended for refusing to help cover up the police shooting of another jewel thief, but continues his investigation and tracks down Mike's foster mother.
All the while, Mike is trying desperately to juggle his criminal life and his goal life of safety, security and enough money that he’ll never be poor again – with hopes to share that with Maya
Still, things are more complicated than that and everything seems to stack up against Mike, Sharon and Lou until the very end of the film.
I think the thing that bothered me most of all about the movie is that Money is still alive despite Mike threatening to kill him.
So, maybe they left it open for a possible sequel, but, I’m not putting much faith into it.
However, feel free to judge for yourself and catch Crime 101 in theaters now.
