Crime 101

[3.5 stars] [IMDB Link]

[Amazon Link]
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So it's Hulk vs. Thor! Also, Storm!

(Respectively: Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Halle Berry.)

This movie was based on a Don Winslow novella, included in his collection of shorter works, Broken (which I liked). On the outer surface it's pretty clichéd: Davis, a very talented thief (Hemsworth), is looking to make One Final Score, but Lou, a diligent cop (Ruffalo), has picked up on his modus operandi: no harm done to his victims, targeting sites with easy access to California Highway 101. Complications ensue for everyone: Davis acquires a sorta-girlfriend who's unaware of his profession; he enlists the aid of an insurance broker (Berry) who's bitter about being passed over for promotion; he gets betrayed by his longtime mentor (whoa, Nick Nolte has seen better days) and tormented, as a result, by a violent psycho. Meanwhile, Lou is getting a lot of pushback from his corrupt cop superiors and cop co-workers.

The cinematography is very splashy. Very Michael Mann-ish. It has to be very splashy for me to notice. I'm surprised it didn't get an Oscar nomination for that, at least.

And it's kind of long: 2⅓ hours. Still, I stayed awake, which is unusual for me at home on the sofa.


Last Modified 2026-04-13 11:29 AM EDT