MOVIE OF THE WEEK (2/13/26): CRIME 101

"I look so good in a black suit I should probably be one of the Men in Bl-oh wait a minute!" Davis (Chris Hemsworth) prepares to focus in a scene from writer/director Bart Layton's aptly named crime drama CRIME 101. Credit: © 2026 Amazon MGM Studios Content Services LLC.

CAST: Chris Hemsworth | Mark Ruffalo | Halle Berry | Barry Keoghan | Tate Donovan | Payman Maadi | Corey Hawkins | Nick Nolte | Monica Barbaro

WRITER: Bart Layton (screenplay) | Don Winslow (based on the novella by)

DIRECTOR: Bart Layton

TRAILER:

THE STORY: Davis (Chris Hemsworth) is a professional thief who excels by following a simple yet pertinent set of rules. He specializes in hitting couriers carrying jewels, which - without violence - he then gets to the aptly named Money (Nick Nolte) for the payoff. However, Lou (Mark Ruffalo) is starting to pick up on clues following the robberies, even though his own partner Tillman (Corey Hawkins) and the rest of his department think he is wasting his – and therefore, everyone else's – time. 

Sharon Goode (Halle Berry) works for an insurance firm that provides policies to the wealthiest of the wealthy, including people like Monroe (Tate Donovan) ... They just don't like paying them out when something goes down. Just ask Sammy Kassem (Payman Maadi) about that. 

Growing up poor, Davis has never let anyone ever really get close to him, a skill that has served him well in his chosen profession. That is, however, until Maya (Monica Barbaro) runs into him (pun intended), making him contemplate what it would be like to settle down with someone after hitting that proverbial last big score. But getting out of the game isn't what Money wants to hear – which is why Ormon (Barry Keoghan) is about to complicate Davis' life something terrible.

So ... What happens when a thief wants to leave his old life behind as the heat gets turned up on him? The answer is CRIME 101 ...

THE REVIEW: YES, there are a LOT of elements of CRIME 101 that will make you think about Michael Mann's classic crime thriller Heat. There is no need for dwelling on those, however. For in much the same reason it's hard to argue with a Pepsi fan that their soda of choice is just as good as Coca-Cola, CRIME 101 has enough of its own niches to let it be just as enjoyable from start to finish.

His notoriety as the Norse god of Thunder may have strapped the rocket onto Hemsworth's back; the performance he delivers in CRIME 101, however, takes him to a new stratosphere. He delivers a fantastic turn as Davis, showing more vulnerability possibly than anything he's previously done. In doing so, he makes his character a fully realized (anti?)hero that commands attention at every turn. 

With a different actor, CRIME 101 could have easily become an action thriller 101 summer blockbuster; instead, under the direction of Bart Layton, you get a film that is much deeper than you might expect. Instead of standard bullets and bombast, you get people exploring the concepts of money and happiness, peace and safety and of course, what does it mean to be moral, karma and no good deed going unpunished. 

Ruffalo and Berry also turn in terrific turns as their respective characters, but make no mistake about it: CRIME 101 is Hemsworth's shining moment – and one worth catching on the big screen.

RATING (OUT OF FOUR BUCKETS OF POPCORN):