There’s a throwback quality to writer-director Bart Layton’s “Crime 101” that you start to notice in its earliest moments. It’s hard to avoid comparisons to Michael Mann classics like “Thief” and “Heat” or Willian Friedkin’s “To Live and Die in L.A”. You can even see the DNA of some the great paranoia thrillers of the 1970s. Layton’s movie may not reach those lofty heights, but you can feel the pulse of those crime genre gems racing all through his latest.

“Crime 101” is based on a 2020 novella by crime novelist Don Winslow. It follows a Los Angeles jewel thief named Mike (Chris Hemsworth) who has successfully executed a string of high-end heists along the busy 101 freeway. After every completed robbery, Mike turns over the haul to his fence (Nick Nolte) who finds a buyer before helping Mike organize his next job.

Much like De Niro’s Neil McCauley from “Heat”, Mike keeps a low profile and intentionally has no personal attachments. And when working, he operates by a very strict set of rules. It’s what has made him a seasoned professional. But also like Neil, Mike breaks his own rules when he becomes involved with a charming young woman (wonderfully played here by Monica Barbaro) who has him second-guessing the life he lives.

Staying with the “Heat” similarities, Mark is furiously pursued by a police detective Lou Lubesnick (Mark Ruffalo) who instantly calls back to Al Pacino’s Vincent Hanna. Like Vincent, Lou’s fixation with his job has wrecked his home life. But he’s a good cop, and he’s hellbent on learning Mike’s identity and stopping his crime spree, no matter how much his lone-wolf obsession puts him at odds with his department.

But Layton tosses in several key characters of his own who add some interesting layers to his story. Tops among them is Sharon Combs (Halle Berry), a broker for a prominent insurance company who finds herself stuck in a VP position while her colleagues are being made partners. Then there’s Ormon (Barry Keoghan), a violently unhinged dirt bike-riding ruffian who begins stepping in on Mike’s action. Both end up playing significant roles in Layton crime movie web.

As its name so clearly implies, “Crime 101” is a straightforward crime thriller – the kind we don’t get as often as we used to. And much like those past crime thrillers, it’s stringently character-driven. Yet despite their similarities, “Crime 101” is no copy-and-paste of “Heat”. It takes its characters in its own distinct directions. It also dabbles in a range of themes involving class, corruption, greed, wealth gaps, childhood trauma, workplace inequality, etc. Not every character thread or thematic interest gets the time it needs, but it does open up some compelling paths for Layton to explore.

Layton’s script finds a healthy balance between action, drama, and suspense. He confidently crafts a compelling story that sustains tension on its way to an inevitable big finish. It has a few too many moving parts, but (for the most part) Layton keeps them corralled and working in unison. And it doesn’t hurt to have such a talent-rich cast that includes six Academy Award nominees. A grounded and restrained Hemsworth gives one his best performances while Berry, Ruffalo, Barbaro, and Keoghan are perfect fits for their roles.

“Crime 101” is a sleek, impeccably crafted, and thoroughly entertaining heist thriller that proudly embraces its ancestors while feeling surprisingly fresh at the same time. The action is exhilarating, characters are given plenty of room to bloom, and Los Angeles is brilliantly rendered through DP Erik Wilson’s evocative lensing. But it’s the script that anchors it all, with its high stakes, gripping suspense, and moral quandaries that push the story into some unexpected territory.

VERDICT – 4 STARS