It’s rare that my wife wants to see a thriller in theaters, but Crime 101 stars Chris Hemsworth, so I’m sure that’s what changed her mind on this one. He plays a high-end jewelry thief named Mike Davis. Mike’s MO is hitting couriers who transport jewels from one location to another in the LA area, and he’s disciplined enough that he’s been doing it awhile without leaving any real clues for the police to follow. The lead investigator for some time has been Lou (Mark Ruffalo), who knows they are looking for a thief who plans every heist down the most minute detail, but Lou can never seem to get any closer to fingering a suspect.
On his most recent job, Mike is grazed by a bullet which does leave a spec of blood in the otherwise completely clean getaway car, but Mike goes about his business in hopes that it won’t be enough. He has other problems, as his planning partner (an old Nick Nolte) doesn’t care for Mike’s penchant for choosing safe jobs where no one will get hurt, and doesn’t care if they were to “crack a few eggs” in order to get the jewels. When Mike steps away from the next job due to too much risk, the old man hires a thug, Ormon (Barry Keoghan), to do the job anyway. Ormon has no such qualms about hurting people, and he beats a few heads before making off with the bag of jewels and cash. Afterwards, Ormon is directed to tail Mike to learn about the next job Mike is planning, and then to take over to elbow Mike out of the way. The next job Mike has in mind: convincing a frustrated luxury insurance agent (Halle Berry) to betray her company and give up some rich prick who’d be ripe for getting some jewelry stolen. While all this is going on, Mike is getting to know a woman and falling in love, something he’s kept himself from doing all these years. He must move past his emotional hangups even as his professional life is facing hardship.
The tense moments in this movie are very good, with edge-of-seat thrills. Keoghan is always great and he plays a fantastic bad guy. Hemsworth is purposefully emotionally detached, as Mike comes from a poor, rough upbringing and possibly is on the autistic spectrum too. The only problem with the film is there’s too much unsaid and undone. It’s longer than 2 hours but it feels like there were subplots left unexplored, and just about all of the characters are one-dimensional but could have been more interesting with a little more fleshing out. It’s the kind of thing that would have worked better as a 5 or 6 episode miniseries than a feature film. Still, I was entertained, and anytime I go to the theater, that’s what I’m looking for. ★★★
Jons Movie Takes 