140 min | R | February 13, 2026 | Amazon MGM Studios
Bart Layton adapts Don Winslow’s novella into a Los Angeles crime thriller that feels like it was made in 1995. Chris Hemsworth and Halle Berry anchor a film about desperate people making irreversible choices.
Crime thrillers set in Los Angeles have been done to death. Heat, Collateral, The Town, all explored this territory with style and substance. Crime 101 understands those films and does not try to reinvent the genre. An elusive thief named Jonas is planning his final score. Wren is a disillusioned insurance broker facing her own crossroads. They form an unlikely partnership while a relentless detective closes in. The premise is familiar. The execution is sharp.
Chris Hemsworth plays Jonas with contained intensity that shows different colors than his usual roles. He is a professional criminal who operates through planning and precision rather than violence. Halle Berry plays Wren with exhaustion and calculation. She is a woman who followed the rules and got nothing. Their scenes together crackle with mutual recognition of people who are out of options. Mark Ruffalo plays the detective with dogged persistence. Barry Keoghan appears in a small role and steals every scene. The ensemble cast, Monica Barbaro, Corey Hawkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nick Nolte, all create a world of Los Angeles crime that feels lived-in.
Bart Layton directed American Animals and The Imposter. He knows how to build tension through procedure and character. The heist sequences are meticulously staged. The film shows the planning and execution with clarity. The cinematography captures Los Angeles with beauty and menace. The script adapted by Layton from Winslow’s novella does smart work showing how desperation drives people to risk everything.
This is a throwback crime thriller that proves the genre still works when executed with craft and intelligence. The film delivers exactly what it promises without apology or irony. This is professional filmmaking in service of a story worth telling.