Crime 101 (2026)

Movie: Crime 101

Director: Bart Layton

IMDb Rating: 6.8/10

Letterboxd Rating: 3.1/5

Overview:

An elusive thief, eyeing his final score, encounters a disillusioned insurance broker at her own crossroads. As their paths intertwine, a relentless detective trails them hoping to thwart the multi-million dollar heist they are planning.

Review:

Intro:

It was an interesting experience watching Crime 101 in theaters, because it was the first film that I watched in theaters in 2026 and also the first film released in 2026 that I watched. In this review I will go over the strengths and weaknesses of the film and also my rating for it.

Strengths:

Acting:

Pretty much every member of the cast gave a good performance though Mark Ruffalo's role and acting interested me the most because it is the second time I have seen him play a detective, the first being in Zodiac. He gave a very impressive performance the first time so I had fairly high expectations and he did not disappoint. Good tension building and line delivery from him in the third act. Chris Hemsworth's performance was nothing really special. The accent could have been better and overall it just seemed like an average action movie performance.

Premise:

I was initially interested in watching this movie because of the plot, it being a cat and mouse crime thriller similar to Heat. Execution aside, it is a pretty intriguing premise because it keeps you on the edge of your seat.

The Climax:

The final 10 minutes were a pretty lazy cop-out in my opinion but I will talk more about that in the weaknesses category but the 30 minutes before that were intense and thrilling in the best way. The car scene stood out to me especially with the whole Steve McQueen conversation. Just gets your heart pumping with tension.

Cinematography:

The very first shot of this film is incredibly beautiful. It gets pretty generic from there on out but I feel like I just needed to talk about that shot because it felt unique and I don't think I've ever seen anything like it before.

Weaknesses:

Pace:

My biggest problem with the movie. It's just very inconsistent because it starts out very exciting and then turns into a slow and sluggish hour of exposition, ONE action scene that does't even involve the protagonist, and the start of a romance that just feels forced and undeveloped. I just wanted to stop watching and I don't get this feeling often in a theater since I only go a few times a year.

Ending:

It just felt forced, too tidy, generic and, overall, disappointing. It just felt like the whole movie was building towards something more...just more. More exciting, more unexpected and worthy of all of the buildup. The buildup of a final heist and a detective investigating the thief at the same time and also another thief looking to thwart the plans. It just deserved better.

Final Rating: 6/10

It's a fun crime movie if you're looking for something to watch but it could have been something special if the pacing was more consistent and the ending was written better.