Crime 101: New Chris Hemsworth Thriller Has Landed On Prime Video

A long Bank Holiday weekend calls for movie night, and we’ve got just the ticket. Despite its star-studded cast, gripping plot and a spate of positive reviews, heist thriller Crime 101 didn’t land major box office success – but it’s now being rediscovered by viewers after dropping on Prime Video. It’s well worth a watch; here’s a taste of what to expect. 

The Plot

Created by writer-director Bart Layton, Crime 101 is adapted from the 2020 novella of the same name by Don Winslow. It follows elusive jewel thief Mike Davis (Chris Hemsworth) whose series of heists along the Pacific coast unites a group of four central characters. When the usually super-smooth Davis messes up and leaves a speck of blood behind in his vehicle, Mike decides it may be time to pack up the heist business – but not before one final blowout. However, things get complicated when he meets girlfriend Maya (Monica Barbaro), who is unaware of his real profession. 

Meanwhile, LAPD detective Lou Lubesnick (Mark Ruffalo) is on the hunt for said thief, and meets up with high-flying but disgruntled insurance broker Sharon Combs (Halle Berry) – AKA, Mike’s next target. And finally there’s hot-headed, dangerous biker Ormon (Barry Keoghan), who also works for Mike’s employer ‘Money’ (Nick Nolte) and is determined to beat his rival. All of these storylines are weaved together in this captivating and explosive film that will keep you on the edge of your seat right up until the final scenes.

Layton was drawn to the book because of its ‘great foundation – a great beginning, middle, and end.’ He added, ‘Don Winslow is a very clever story-smith, and I thought if I was ever going to make a Hollywood movie of scale, it would be the kind of movie I’d want to go to and buy popcorn and go on a proper Friday or Saturday night at the cinema.’

(c) Amazon Prime

The Cast

Australian-born Hemsworth is no stranger to action-packed movies. He’s best-known for playing Thor in the Avengers and Thor franchises, but has also starred as Formula 1 driver James Hunt in Rush and a secret agent in Men in Black: International. 

His role in Crime 101, though, presented new challenges for the actor. Hemsworth described feeling ‘quite exposed’ by the character of Mike, adding, ‘I wasn’t able to hide behind a vocal quality or posture the way I could with Thor and these larger characters. It was about doing the opposite.’ Mike isn’t your average baddie: he’s nonviolent and shy. And, as Hemsworth notes, all four key characters in the film are nuanced. ‘They’re all at a point where a transformation needs to occur,’ he says. ‘They’re like, “I’m done wearing this mask. This personification of myself that has been created via either societal expectations, or my own assumption that if I add these things to my entity then I’ll feel fulfilled.” But what they’re all searching for is connection, love and friendship.’

The detective role, meanwhile, is familiar territory for Ruffalo. He has played a string of law enforcement characters in recent years, from Shutter Island to Collateral and the Now You See Me franchise. What is it about Ruffalo that makes him so good at playing the cop? ‘There’s such an honesty and a deep integrity to Mark and an inquisitive nature, and there’s a huge amount of compassion and empathy, and that’s what you want in a police officer,’ says Hemsworth. ‘And I think it’s the ideal type of personality.’

Crime 101 is one of many recent big movies starring Keoghan, from Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man to Saltburn to Hurry Up Tomorrow.

Alongside the central four, Crime 101 stars:

• Monica Barbaro as Maya
• Nick Nolte as ‘Money’
• Peter Banifaz as Ben Haddad
• Babak Tafti as Ali
• Jennifer Jason Leigh as Angie
• Hossein Mardani as Masoud
• Andra Nechita as Adrienne
• Corey Hawkins as Tillman

(c) Amazon Prime

Where Was Crime 101 Filmed?

The movie was mainly filmed in Los Angeles. Layton was keen to find lesser-known parts of the city which hadn’t appeared on screen before: ‘I wanted to reflect all of the social strata. There is a topographical divide. The wealthiest people live high on the hills or the coast and the people without anything live underneath or even under the freeway or, you know, so all of that was important to try to convey.’ You’ll spot many recognisable landmarks throughout the film too though, like Grand Central Market, Sixth Street Bridge, the Beverley Wilshire Hotel and Langer’s Deli.

Some scenes were also filmed in London, specifically at the Nelson Estate football pitch and the LaoDao restaurant on Walworth Road in Elephant & Castle.

How To Stream

Crime 101 is available to stream now on Amazon Prime.