A crime movie with Thor, Hulk, Storm, and The Joker? Sign me up.
Crime 101 is a gritty crime film, set within a high-society world of polished, a professional thief, the fact that diamonds are the main target is clever too, because they can’t be traced, so you immediately know this character understands exactly what he’s doing.
I will say there’s probably one too many side plots going on, and I do wish we saw more actual stealing. There’s one job in the opening and another at the end, but I don’t think that’s enough to fully understand what he’s capable of, the opening heist is excellent, especially seeing everything he does to prepare and execute it, but I spent most of the film wondering if he was ever going to pull another job. This also ties into another issue, the runtime, at 2 hours and 20 minutes, it’s paced fairly well and the characters are strong, but with only brief crime sequences and a lot of time spent either trying to track him down or on subplots that don’t fully pay off.
That said, the action is very good, the car chases are shot beautifully and genuinely make you feel like you’re in the middle of them, there are some incredibly intense moments too, especially whenever Barry Keoghan shows up, I genuinely jumped almost every time he appeared. His scenes are gripping, slightly unsettling, and some of the best in the entire film.
Chris Hemsworth is another highlight. He’s such a talented actor, and I love when he leans into his dramatic side because he’s genuinely great at it, here, he plays a man who’s is perfect at his craft while carrying a tragic past but trying to maintain some sense of a normal life, keeping everything to himself, laying low, and secretly planning another job, he portrays all of that perfectly.
Mark Ruffalo’s character was extremely likeable. He plays a detective obsessed with tracking down Chris Hemsworth’s character, he’s gripping to watch, he plays the kind of cop no one wants to listen to, but who refuses to stop until he gets his man, just a great performance from a great actor.
And Halle Berry once again proves why she’s one of the greats, her performance as a woman trying to get ahead in her career while being pulled into this dangerous crime world is brilliant, she shifts effortlessly from confident and composed to vulnerable and unsure of who to trust, and it never feels forced.
I’m also really glad I saw this in IMAX, not just for the big action moments (which still looked great), but for the score, the soundtrack is incredible, and hearing it through IMAX speakers made such a difference.
So while I wouldn’t say I loved this film, I did really like it and I’m glad I saw it, it can be a little hard to follow in places, but there’s a strong story and some fantastic performances, which make it a solid watch.
