Crime 101 (dir. Bart Layton)

by Jack Martin | Feb 12, 2026

Certificate: 15

Running Time: 140 mins

UK Distributor: Sony Pictures

UK Release Date: 11 February 2026

WHO’S IN CRIME 101?

Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, Halle Berry, Monica Barbaro, Corey Hawkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nick Nolte, Tate Donovan, Devon Bostick, Payman Maadi, Babak Tafti, Deborah Hedwall, Paul Adelstein, Drew Powell, Matthew Del Negro, John Douglas

WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?

Bart Layton (director, writer, producer), Tim Bevan, Dimitri Doganis, Eric Fellner, Benjamin Grayson, Chris Hemsworth, Shane Salerno and Derrin Schlesinger (producers), Blanck Mass (composer), Erik Alexander Wilson (cinematographer), Julian Hart and Jacob Schulsinger (editors)

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

A career thief (Hemsworth) is drawn into a dangerous new score…

WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON CRIME 101?

There’s a very good reason as to why writer-director Bart Layton’s latest film, his third overall after his debut documentary The Imposter and his impressive docudrama follow-up American Animals, is called Crime 101. Sure, a bunch of crimes happen on the 101 freeway in Los Angeles, but the film – an adaptation of Don Winslow’s novella of the same name – is pretty much a collection of some of the most recognisable tropes within crime cinema, from the career criminal with a conscience to the obsessed detective to the wildcard rookie and all the way down to a moody score to contrast against the sunny landscapes. It is, quite literally, crime 101.

And yet, even though it’s filled with everything you’d expect out of a film like this, to where its biggest twist is that there isn’t actually a twist, Crime 101 is still extremely gripping. This is a clear-cut example of a filmmaker like Layton taking the usual conventions of the standard crime thriller and not only executing them really well, but actually making them feel as though it’s the first time you’ve experienced most of them. In doing so, he’s made something that’s thoroughly entertaining, familiarity be damned.

As mentioned, the film takes place in LA where we primarily follow three characters. First there’s Mike Davis (Chris Hemsworth), a jewel thief whose MO is non-violently robbing couriers with high value items along the 101 freeway, before delivering the goods to a shady underworld fence known as Money (Nick Nolte). Mike is exceptionally good at his job, to where he is meticulous about leaving absolutely no trace of DNA at the scene, making him practically a ghost among cops – that is, except for our next protagonist Lou Lubesnick (Mark Ruffalo), a detective who’s obsessed with figuring out who this so-called “101 Bandit” is even when the rest of his department couldn’t care less.

Both men are vaguely connected by our third and final lead, insurance broker Sharon Colvin (Halle Berry) who becomes drawn into Mike’s world after years of being misled by her colleagues and disrespected by her wealthy clients. Factor in Barry Keoghan as Ormon, a violent young protégé of Money’s who’s sent in to keep tabs on Mike when he hints at pursuing a life beyond his criminal lifestyle, and you have yourself a full-on cocktail of suspense as all of their worlds eventually collide with one another.

The most obvious thing to do in a review of a film like Crime 101 would be to draw parallels between this film and Michael Mann’s Heat. After all, both are extremely similar to one another in a lot of ways, among them the Los Angeles setting as well as a primary focus on the cat-and-mouse chase between a morally conflicted criminal and a burnt-out detective, which given that Mann’s film is considered one of the most defining films within the crime genre makes the comparison inevitable. There isn’t really a Val Kilmer equivalent, though, so that drags it down a little bit.

But Layton’s film honestly deserves a lot more credit than just being compared to something like Heat, because whether or not you can identify the parallels between both movies, this one manages to establish enough of its own plot and characters, and even its own directorial style, to keep you from thinking too much about the other one. For instance, Layton applies a keen sense of visual storytelling to his overlapping plots, carefully aligning certain transition shots to mirror one another via some sharp editing and Erik Alexander Wilson’s pristine cinematography, which helps the focus shift naturally rather than abruptly and makes it easy to understand what’s happening and to whom at any time.

Layton’s talent for building suspense is also put to good use across a near two-and-a-half-hour runtime that goes by smoothly, as he utilises the slow-burn pace to focus on the main characters and their own lives outside of their chosen lines of work. We get to see Hemsworth’s Mike be socially awkward in moments of intimacy, avoiding eye contact with even his love interest Maya (a somewhat underused Monica Barbaro); Ruffalo’s Lou is this schlubby guy in an unhappy marriage who decides to take up yoga; and while Berry’s Sharon is perhaps the most secure of the lot she’s riddled with frustration and anxiety thanks to years of professional neglect. The heavy focus on character makes all of them feel more real and therefore more worthy of your interest, and even as the plot heads towards a fairly predictable conclusion you’re still very much on their side, to a point where you certainly want to see the detective catch the criminal but simultaneously want to see the mouse get away from the cat.

The filmmaking, the performances and the clever intersectionality between its characters and storylines are all solid enough for you to overlook some of its weaker moments. Beyond the familiar notions, certain other plots are dropped pretty suddenly, while some characters are set up to be major players later on only to disappear from the movie entirely, which can rob the movie of its own sense of closure. These things can’t quite escape your mind, no matter how gripped you are by what’s happening.

But again, in spite of everything, chief among them knowing that what you’re watching is stuff you’ve seen plenty of times before, Crime 101 proves that a great execution can make them feel fresh once again, and that you don’t have to know the basics of a typical crime thriller to enjoy this one.

SO, TO SUM UP…

Crime 101 is a textbook example of a talented filmmaker like Bart Layton taking an overly familiar concept, in this case a crime thriller that draws more than a few similarities to something like Heat, and applying a strong sense of filmmaking pedigree as well as genuine investment in plot and character to make the tropes feel fresh and exciting once more, not to mention thoroughly entertaining.