Crime 101 Review: Old-Fashioned Crime Thriller

Bart Layton’s Crime 101 feels like a throwback to classic 90s heist dramas, delivering the right amount of thrills.

Half-narrative film, half-documentary with the inclusion of interviews, American Animals demonstrated how versatile and stylish Layton can be within the rules of this type of movie. Crime 101 very much feels like an evolution of his previous work. It might utilize a well-known formula, but in a time where it’s a rarity for this kind of movie to get released in theaters, Layton’s latest is a welcome addition to the genre.

Mike Davis (Chris Hemsworth, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga) has earned a reputation for pulling off a series of heists along the 101 freeway in Los Angeles. Following his trail is detective Lou  (Mark Ruffalo, Mickey 17), who seems to be the only one in the LAPD picking up on Mike’s criminal patterns. While looking for his final score, Mike encounters Sharon (Halle Berry, Never Let Go), a disillusioned insurance broker at her own crossroads; a potential lover in Maya (Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown), who might be worth leaving his life of crime for; and Ormon (Barry Keoghan, Saltburn), a deadly robber setting himself as Mike’s rival. As their paths intertwine, the line between hunter and hunted begins to blur, and everyone is faced with life-defining choices.

Though our characters couldn’t be any more different from each other, personality-wise, there’s a connective tissue that links them: they’re all trying to prove their worth to themselves or their superiors. In the case of Mike, he comes from nothing. No money, no real family, nothing attached to his name. So, he views the wealth he’s accumulated as a form of self-pride and security. Lou is trying to get his colleagues at the police department to take him seriously. His instincts are proven right, but ultimately, his good intentions are undermined by a broken system that favors easy over justice. Sharon and Maya are moving up in their respective professions, only to be told to stay in their lanes. Ormon is not too dissimilar to Mike. However, his violent tendencies get in the way more often than not.

Crime 101’s cast does a wonderful job at exploring these themes and maintaining a sense of momentum. Hemsworth continues to take some of the most interesting roles outside his MCU persona. Here you have a highly calculative, sharp thief with the perfect looks. Yet, there is a stoic fragility Hemsworth brings to the role. He’s unable to keep eye contact with anyone, maybe out of fear he’ll develop an emotional connection and disappoint them once his true self is revealed. As a result, it can be tough to relate to Mike or understand his psyche, but Hemsworth fulfills what the character demands.

Ruffalo has played a character like Lou  – the obsessive guy attempting to crack a case – in the past; this archetype really suits him. He is a huge reason why you care about the investigation side of this kind of story, and his work here is no different. Where you might have a hard time connecting to Mike, that is not an issue with Ruffalo. Berry operates in a similar vein. She’s charismatic and hardworking, though always putting on a mask, hiding her frustration or shame. Every decision she makes feels justified based on how the world treats her in return for playing by the rules.

Ultimately, it is Keoghan who stands out from the supporting cast. He and Layton collaborated on American Animals, and Keoghan is much more sympathetic there. In Crime 101, he’s the wildcard, an archetype he has learned to excel at over the years. What makes it unique here is that everyone is playing it straight, and he’s the one to inject the film with the unpredictable energy that it so needed to glue everything together.

Beyond its actors selling the persona of the classic ’90s-early 2000s crime thriller, it is the stylistic choices that make Crime 101 feel like a throwback to when the genre dominated the market. Director of photography Erik Wilson supports the moody tone Layton is going for through framing and lighting. Instances where a vehicle’s taillights are used to illuminate a night scene are slick and oddly sexy, despite the crimes depicted on screen. It reminds you of how Martin Scorsese uses this trick to contrast his violence, e.g., Goodfellas, vibrant red taillights masking a bloody affair.

City street lights, empty parking garages, and views of the many beaches of LA give Crime 101 as much personality as its cast. Like any great heist film, the city is as important a character as its protagonist. Even a liquor store can add context to a confrontational moment between Mike and Ormon. The setting mirrors their humble beginnings, and how, no matter how much money they make through the jobs they pull, it can’t erase the rough environments that shaped them into who they are today.

A vital element of any good crime thriller is pacing. You have to spell out a lot of exposition without it feeling like homework. A balance must be struck between character development and set pieces. The film must have a certain flow that gives you the illusion that things are in constant motion in order to make even the mundane plots seem important. It’s here where Crime 101 falls somewhat short.

Layton, alongside editors Julian Hart and Jacob Secher Schulsinger, opens with a strong first act. It does precisely the previously mentioned components rather well, establishing a sense of momentum. Once we hit the middle portion of Crime 101, the movie tends to be scattered. For example, Hemsworth and Barbaro have solid chemistry, but their rom-com-like love can feel like someone slamming on the brakes. Ruffalo’s disillusionment with the LAPD’s corruption is important for his arc, though the actual execution of this subplot is rather poor, and it’s done in an afterthought fashion. Getting past these beats that lack energy, Crime 101 does treat you to quite an exhilarating climax. It locks back in, similarly to its first act. Layton keeps things relatively small-scale, which only ends up benefiting his characters by tying up loose ends.

Crime 101 doesn’t do anything new in the genre, like Layton’s American Animals. He’s very much sticking to the tropes he grew up watching in films such as Casino, Collateral, Heat, etc. On that front, one could criticize Crime 101 for being a poor imitation of those crime classics. Sure, in more ways than one, that is the case, although the passion displayed by Layton and crew is enough to forgive some of its shortcomings. Crime dramas tend to be regarded as streaming movies nowadays; Amazon and Netflix can be thanked for that. So, whether it ends up being a financial success or not, it’s refreshing to see one of these thrillers be given the theatrical support the genre once had.

Crime 101 will be released in US theaters, in UK & Irish cinemas, and globally in theatres on February 13, 2026.