By Nick Nitkowski 

Crime dramas! They can be pretty exciting. There are countless crime drama movies and TV shows, and the masses eat them up like breakfast at an all-you-can-eat buffet. There is an alarming amount of interest in crime dramas and podcasts about real criminals and unsolved murders these days, but I digress. For me, crime dramas can work very well so long as there is a good even balance between the drama and the action and based on the trailer that I’ve seen, it seems like “Crime 101” is going to deliver. Now that I’ve seen it for myself, does this movie have the goods, or was I just robbed of my time? Let’s discuss.

Despite what the title would suggest, “Crime 101” is not a step-by-step guide to getting into a life of crime. Instead, it’s about an elusive jewel thief played by Chris Hemsworth, who has successfully committed multiple robberies along the 101 freeway in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, a relentless detective, played by Mark Ruffalo, is constantly on his tail, trying to apprehend him and bring him to justice. As the thief plans his next job, he finds that he needs the help of an insurance broker, played by Halle Berry, who is going through her own personal struggles. As this big heist draws near, the risks grow higher as their worlds start to collide.

This movie is based on a novel of the same name by Don Winslow, which you already know that I did not read. I wasn’t even aware of the novel’s existence until after the fact, but after watching the movie, I kind of wish that I had known about the source material beforehand because I feel like the movie trailer promised me a very different movie than the one that I watched. Don’t get me wrong, there were still plenty of action moments woven in with the drama, but the action sequences themselves just were not very exciting or thrilling for me personally. I can’t really say that I was bored exactly as it did manage to hold my attention, but I was fully cognizant of the movie’s runtime from start to finish, and I felt it.

This movie mainly falls on the shoulders of Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo. Thor and Hulk together again. They do what they do in the movie. There are no standout performances here, but they work with what they’re given. The trailer made it seem like Halle Berry’s character was going to be more important than she actually ended up being. She is present for a large amount of the movie, but she doesn’t really do a whole lot that would be considered integral to the story. She’s mostly there to blur the line and ask the question, “Who’s the real criminal? A robber or an insurance broker?”, which would have been great if that was explored better or was even remotely interesting. 

In observation of some of the supporting actors, Nick Nolte is in this movie for a couple of scenes, and if I’m being honest, I think he was greatly miscast in this. Nick Nolte is 85 years old as of 2026. This means he was either 83 or 84 when he filmed his scenes for this movie, and you can see him shaking a lot and struggling to speak in every scene that he is in. His character is supposed to be someone in charge who arranges the heists, but the man playing him looks as frail as a leaf in winter. I genuinely felt bad for him when I saw him on screen. Berry Keoghan is also in the movie as a sort of antagonist character, and I’d say that his character is the one who stood out the most. Berry Keoghan has experience working with the director of this film from a previous project called “American Animals” which I have not seen, but I have seen Berry Keoghan’s other works, and he always does a good job with the roles I’ve seen him in, and this one is no exception. A little over the top at times in this movie, but memorable.

Overall, there’s not much more that I can say about “Crime 101”. At its best, it’s average. At its worst, it’s slow. While dialogue can be most beneficial to the page, on film, it’s all about the execution of the dialogue that makes it engaging, and I personally feel as though it fell flat in this movie. And the action of the film I felt wasn’t as exciting or as thrilling as it could have been. There were times when both the action and the dialogue touch the surface for being interesting but ultimately fail to leave a mark. Perhaps it’s because I’ve seen too many movies that my expectations for action thrills and engaging dialogue have reached exponential heights. It’s possible that this will satisfy the average moviegoer, but if you’re an above average moviegoer like me, it might feel like your time was robbed. And if you choose to see this in Dolby or IMAX this weekend without an A-List or Unlimited subscription, it may feel like your money was robbed, too. It’s the perfect heist to rob theater audiences out of millions of dollars! The only way to not be duped is to either avoid it altogether or wait to stream it on Amazon Prime in about a month or so. Class dismissed!

2.5 stars