Crime 101 (2026)

	Directed by: Bart Layton	COUNTRY UK/USA GENRE Crime/Thriller NORWEGIAN TITLE Crime 101 RUNNING TIME 140 minutes
	Produced by: Tim Bevan Eric Fellner Derrin Schelsinger Dimitri Doganis Bart Layton Shane Salerno Chris Hemsworth Ben Grayson
	Written by: Bart Layton

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Mike / James Davis	Chris Hemsworth
Det. Lou Lubesnick	Mark Ruffalo	½
Ormon	Barry Keoghan	½
Sharon Coombs	Halle Berry
Maya	Monica Barbaro	½
Det. Tillman	Corey Hawkins	-
Angie Lubesnick	Jennifer Jason Leigh	-
Money	Nick Nolte
Steven Monroe	Tate Donovan	-
Devon	Devon Bostick	-
Sammy Kassem	Payman Maadi
Mark	Paul Adelstein	½

Review

Could we be witnessing the next great American heist movie? Perhaps even the next great, sprawling L.A. drama? Crime 101 certainly has the ambition for and approximates both. Chris Hemsworth plays a brilliant, non-violent jewel thief whose success rate eventually draws the attention of several parties, including the stubborn police detective on his trail (Mark Ruffalo) and his own partners in crime (Nick Nolte and Barry Keoghan). At the same time, a broker for the insurance company covering the latest theft (Halle Berry) is about to lose her patience with her employer and her line of work.

Anyone familiar with filmmaker Bary Layton's two other entries (The Imposter, American Animals) will recognise his remarkable ability to create, uphold, and portion out tension. When he raises the scope and budget with Crime 101, he demonstrates his talent by maintaining a firm command of his story, which dances ahead with a delightful mixture of adrenaline-pumping action and a genuine interest in its characters. Some of them are based on archetypes, which is clearly a conscious choice, as they are pulled from the vault and given new relevance in the connected world. Our protagonist Mike has a soul as old as storytelling itself, but he deals with contemporary issues such as isolation and – more prominently – social, romantic and financial insecurity. Layton looks to create timeless cinema. And whenever he touches upon current incendiary issues, he does so subtly, careful not to step directly into any overexposed minefields.

The film's inspiration from Bullitt is not only apparent – it's literally stated – and yet, Crime 101 has a savoury richness and a careful optimism that makes it transcend genre fare and become more than the sum of its parts. There are superb performances among a formidable cast, especially Mark Ruffalo as Detective Lubesnick and Barry Keoghan with another raw, explosive turn as the volatile young thief Ormond.