Crime 101: Hemsworth steers a stylish, high‑stakes LA heist
Crime 101 races through Los Angeles with a tightly wound lead, a bruised conscience and the kind of glossy, adrenaline‑fueled staging that recalls the work of Michael Mann. The film, directed by Bart Layton and adapted from a novella by Don Winslow, leans into precision, style and a one‑last‑job plot while testing whether chrome and choreography can carry social ambition.
Hemsworth’s cool center
Chris Hemsworth plays Mike, a meticulously groomed master thief who treats jewel heists like a surgeon treats an operation. Hemsworth’s performance is controlled and taut, selling a man who moves with the sleek efficiency of a professional whose entire identity is choreography: performance cars, Glock sidearms, and an insistence on nonviolence that feels almost balletic. The role gives Hemsworth scope to blend charm with a brittle moral core, and he delivers enough nuance to make Mike’s eventual misgivings credible.
Direction and tone: fast, sleek, Mann‑adjacent
>Bart Layton keeps the engine revving. The film strips away the meta devices that marked his past work in favor of headlong propulsion. Visuals are razor‑cut and kinetic, and Layton borrows elements associated with neo‑noir crime cinema—nighttime glints on chrome, hyperfocused set pieces and a sense of constant motion—without committing to full homage. The result is an entertainingly stylish thriller that prioritizes momentum and spectacle over deep social critique.Supporting players sharpen the edges
Nick Nolte plays Money, the leathery mentor who shepherded Mike out of foster care and into a life of organized theft. Nolte’s world‑worn presence anchors the film’s moral gravity. Mark Ruffalo appears as Detective Lou Lubesnick, a shrewd, unassuming cop who spots the pattern of robberies along California’s Route 101 and provides the story’s moral counterpoint; Ruffalo brings a Columbo‑like dishevelment that masks professional persistence. Barry Keoghan’s Ormon is raw and unpredictable, a foil to Mike’s discipline, while Halle Berry and Monica Barbaro add personal stakes: Berry as an insurance agent who becomes an unwitting collaborator, Barbaro as Mike’s girlfriend kept in the dark about his life.
Where style outpaces substance
For all its verve, Crime 101 stumbles when it attempts social commentary. Illustrations of Los Angeles poverty and homelessness are present but feel perfunctory, as if placed to suggest a broader argument without the film committing to it. The plot’s moral questions—particularly Mike’s discomfort and the threat of a younger, trigger‑happy replacement—are compelling, yet the film doesn’t always push them to the frictions that might have given the story sharper weight.
Final verdict and release details
Crime 101 is a decidedly watchable spectacle: stylishly shot, briskly paced and anchored by Hemsworth’s controlled lead. It may be lighter on social insight than it hints at, but as a high‑stakes robbery thriller it delivers enough tension and craftsmanship to satisfy fans of the genre. The film opens on February 13, 2026 (ET) in the US and UK, with an earlier February 12, 2026 (ET) release in Australia.
