Mike (Chris Hemsworth) is an expert thief whose territory lies across the 101 Highway in Los Angeles. Lou (Mark Ruffalo) is a dishevelled detective whose crazy theory on how this thief operates is looked down upon by his peers. Sharon (Halle Berry) is an insurance underwriter who deals in the exact items that Mike craves. As their lives intertwine in the bright sunshine of Los Angeles, a game of cat and mouse will ensue. 

Crime 101 has some phenomenal credentials. Based on a novella by Don Winslow and written and directed by Bart Layton (American Animals and The Imposter), it also has a stellar cast. Joining the lead trio are Barry Keoghan as a rival thief, Monica Barbaro as a love interest for Mike, Nick Nolte as the criminal fence that Mike uses, and Jennifer Jason Leigh, who appears in a single scene as Lou’s disgruntled wife. Yet, despite all of this talent and a perfectly oiled complex set of events, it never really delivers anything more than anything that could be described as better than just accomplished. 

The issue is that everything feels like something you have seen before, and any film that focuses on a cat and mouse chase between a thief and a cop in LA has the almost impossible shadow of Heat looming over it. 

Mike is a perfect thief who lives a solitary life in empty homes on the beach, whilst looking for that final score. He meets Maya (Barbaro), and whilst he struggles to open up to her, it makes him realise she might be someone he could change his life for. If you are thinking of Neil McCauley from Heat, I would not blame you. 

Lou is essentially Columbo, although Ruffalo has also just played a dishevelled FBI agent chasing thieves in a TV series called Task, so you can take your pick. 

Barry Keoghan’s Orman is essentially Luke from The Place Beyond The Pines but more violent. Stalking around on his scrambler motorcycle with nervous energy whilst sporting bleached hair and many tattoos.  

It is only really Berry’s Sharon who feels slightly more original than all the other characters in a way that lets you root for her. 

There are a couple of chases, augmented in some way by Lou and Mike discussing Steve McQueen movies, but otherwise little in the way of action. So it really boils down to whether you can find yourself really engaging with the crime archetypes and tropes that this film offers, or if you will just be wishing you were watching one of the other films it hopes it could be. 

Crime 101 is accomplished. It just cannot hold a candle to the films that have inspired it and lacks any real spark of its own.