Crime 101
Crime 101‘s screenplay had already been buzzing around Hollywood as a great crime story before a frame was even shot. The film was penned by Barry Layton and Peter Straughan, with Layton also serving as director. Layton’s most recent film was 2018’s American Animals, while Straughan earned major accolades for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Conclave, the latter of which earned him the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Chris Hemsworth stars in the film with Mark Ruffalo, Halle Berry, Barry Keoghan, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nick Nolte, Tate Donovan, Monica Barbaro, and Corey Hawkins.
What are people saying about it?
While the script was buzzing, after the trailer was released, the film started drawing a lot of comparisons to Michael Mann’s Heat. And the movie is now having advanced screenings, so what’s the early word on it? Our Jason St. Germain was at the premiere and posted on our social media, “#Crime101 is the first GREAT film of 2026. @AmazonMGMStudio was smart by releasing this into theaters and not to streaming. STACKED cast. The film is suspenseful throughout with a VERY satisfying ending. You NEED to see @Crime101Movie on February 13”
Here are some more X reactions:
For the rest, we go to Letterboxd. A user named moviemattk posted his reaction,
“It’s easy to compare this to Michael Mann’s 1995 film Heat, as Crime 101 is another cat-and-mouse thriller between an obsessed detective and a calculating criminal. It sprinkles in enough changes to be its own thing, but still follows the formula a little too closely. I can’t say much due to the review embargo, but there is elements of sauce here!
Also, Barry Keoghan really has a lock on playing the sniveling little freak!”
Another user named Jamie rated Crime 101 4 stars and said, “This was a fun throwback to those high octane 90s and 2000s thrillers that we rarely see anymore and I commend Layton for reviving this type of film back on the big screen. Flawed but very well done.”
A user named Jordan gave the movie 3 1/2 stars, but thought it treaded just a little too close to Heat,
“A solid slick crime thriller that I for the most part enjoyed. Nice color grading and full of movie stars that just do their thing. I guess my biggest gripe with the film is that it is a tad cliche.”
A user with the amusing name, Dave Decayed, would also give the movie 4 stars and say,
“A super slick LA heist movie that never lets up from the dizzying opening. I’m sure some people will dismiss it because maybe it doesn’t reach the towering heights of ‘Heat‘, but it’s a solidly crafted thriller with great performances: Halle Berry is fantastic – Hollywood you did this woman wrong after her Oscar win!! Bart Layton signed my American Animals poster so I’m flying high”
A user named Ian would rate the movie with 3 stars, but his review leaned on some disappointment,
“This has a lot of interesting ideas and a lot of storylines that I felt were going to make for an exciting and engaging crime film. Unfortunately, by time the credits rolled the different aspects of the film that I thought had an interesting concept to them didn’t develop fully.
Are you looking forward to Crime 101? Let us know in the comments!
