I feel like I got so much marketing for this film. Before every film for the last month or so in the cinema, I’ve had a trailer for this film, and I always wondered why it was marketing so hard for what felt like a fairly generic crime thriller that we’ve seen countless times and typically ends up going straight to a streaming service.
Crime 101 follows Davis (Chris Hemsworth), a thief who looking to get away with one final robbery, as a detective (Mark Ruffalo) tries to catch up with him and crack the case, and his business partner hires another thief to take over who is more of an agent of chaos.
Despite me stating how generic this film felt from the trailers, and how honestly unbothered I was about seeing it, despite the film having decent reviews, and honestly if it hadn’t of been half term then I probably would’ve seen GOAT instead of this, and I thought this film was going to be one of the quieter films showing, how wrong I was. It was a pretty miserable, wet day outside so nowhere better to be than in the cinema, and in a probably about half full screening of Crime 101.
The cast is extremely likable which really helps sell a film like this. Chris Hemsworth is no stranger to films like this, and had streaming success with his Netflix actions films Extraction and Extraction 2. I think he’s very underappreciated as an actor, he delivered a fantastic performance a couple of years ago in Furiosa. I don’t think he tries to be an actor that’s winning awards, but will consistently deliver in fun films that please audiences, almost in a similar way to how Tom Cruise delivers films like Mission: Impossible. Hemsworth’s character, Davis, doesn’t have a huge arc in this film, but what little is there, particularly his relationship with Monica Barbaro’s character, his love interest, is interesting, and I’d have liked to have seen more of that honestly.
I think the film honestly gets a little bogged down in the script by trying to balance the plots for both female characters, which are fine, but could’ve both been more involved. I felt like the love interest and the insurance broker (played by Halle Berry) were probably 1 character at one point in an earlier draft, but couldn’t fully make it work so just split it into 2 characters, meaning both suffer. I liked both characters, I just would’ve liked to have seen more of both, but you might need to take one out to make room for the other, as they aren’t the biggest players in the film.
For a film like this, there isn’t a whole of action, definitely not as much as what I was expecting. The film starts with an action, has a smaller one a little later on then saves it for build up for the final sequence, which again is very action lite honestly. The film doesn’t need it and is enjoyable without it.
Most of the screen time is divided up between Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo, followed by Halle Berry. But then you have the likes of Barry Keoghan, Corey Hawkins, Monica Barbaro and Nick Nolte whose screen time vary from could’ve done with a little more to needed way more. For them to even agree to be in a film like this, feels like they would’ve got a decent pay for as little screen time as they get, and none of them have any particularly challenging parts to the film.
Overall, Crime 101 is a really enjoyable crime thriller, that’s carried by a likable cast, even if some characters don’t get as much time to shine as the main characters. The film doesn’t have too many lulls at all for a film that clocks in at 140 minutes, but to take it to the next level could’ve have elevated it with more twists and turns, or more action. A film I’m glad I was able to watch in cinemas like others, but will thrive in a second life on streaming as well.
What did you think of Crime 101?
Don’t forget tomorrow evening is the BAFTA awards! This week I’ll definitely aim to watch a couple more films this week, but we do have a big one releasing on the 27th, Scream 7, which I’m trying to make work to watch on Thursday, but it might not be for a week later. Either way, be sure to follow on social media @Floodersfilms or via the buttons below, and be sure to take out the new latest news tab to see the latest news from the film and TV world!
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