Crime 101, the highly anticipated heist thriller from director Bart Layton, has arrived in theaters with a star-studded cast led by Chris Hemsworth, Halle Berry, and Mark Ruffalo. Released on February 13 by Amazon MGM Studios, the film adapts Don Winslow’s acclaimed 2020 novella of the same name into a sun-drenched Los Angeles crime story that critics are calling a throwback to the genre’s golden era.

A Jewel Thief, a Detective, and an Insurance Broker Walk Into L.A.

Set against the sprawling backdrop of Los Angeles, Crime 101 follows an elusive jewel thief played by Hemsworth whose string of meticulously planned heists along the 101 freeway have baffled law enforcement. When he sets his sights on the score of a lifetime, his path collides with a disillusioned insurance broker portrayed by Berry, who is confronting her own moral crossroads.

Mark Ruffalo rounds out the central trio as a relentless detective convinced he has identified a pattern in the robberies and is closing in on his target. As the climactic heist approaches, the boundaries between hunter and hunted dissolve, forcing all three characters into life-defining choices with no possibility of retreat.

The supporting cast adds significant depth to the ensemble, featuring Barry Keoghan, Monica Barbaro, Corey Hawkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Nick Nolte in key roles.

Bart Layton’s Leap Into Narrative Crime Cinema

Director Bart Layton, best known for genre-blending documentaries like The Imposter and his feature debut American Animals, brings his distinctive eye for the mechanics of deception to a fully scripted crime narrative. Critics have noted that Layton’s documentary background gives Crime 101 an unusual texture, grounding its heist sequences in procedural specificity while maintaining the glossy visual style the genre demands.

The film premiered at a London screening on January 28 before its wide theatrical release, generating strong early word-of-mouth. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an 86 percent positive rating from 124 critics, with particular praise directed at Hemsworth’s lead performance and Berry’s work in what multiple reviewers have described as her strongest role in years, as reported by Netflix Tudum.

A Bidding War and a Long Road to Screen

The path to production was itself a notable story. Amazon won a competitive bidding war for the rights to Winslow’s novella in 2023, outbidding several major studios and streamers. The project initially had Pedro Pascal attached to star alongside Hemsworth, but scheduling conflicts with The Fantastic Four: First Steps led to Pascal’s departure and the subsequent casting of the current ensemble.

The film was originally slated for a 2025 release before being pushed to February 2026, a move that appears to have paid off given the relatively open competitive landscape in the early months of the year.

Box Office and Critical Standing

In its opening weekend, Crime 101 grossed $15.1 million domestically and $12 million internationally for a worldwide total of $27.1 million. While not a blockbuster debut, the numbers represent a solid start for an original property that relies on star power and genre appeal rather than existing intellectual property.

Metacritic assigned the film a score of 68 out of 100 based on 36 critics, indicating generally favorable reviews. The critical consensus suggests that while Crime 101 does not reinvent the heist genre, it executes its formula with enough style and charisma to stand out in the current theatrical landscape, as reported by Netflix Tudum.

For audiences seeking a polished, star-driven crime thriller in the vein of Michael Mann or Steven Soderbergh, Crime 101 offers exactly the kind of grown-up entertainment that has become increasingly rare in a franchise-dominated marketplace.