Crime 101 is just days away from releasing in cinemas worldwide, yet it doesn't seem to be getting the press it deserves. With such a star-studded cast, including the likes of Chris Hemsworth, Mark Rufallo, and Halle Berry, it's a surprise that this movie is flying so far under the radar. As a result, let this article act as the reason for you to sit down with this movie at your local cinema. This review will include very minimal spoilers, and you will be warned before any mention of anything that doesn't appear in any trailers, so rest assured knowing you can go into the cinema and experience all the twists and turns for the first time.
I expected to start this review by saying something along the lines of: "what initially seemed like quite a regular crime thriller, soon spiralled into something much more captivating". While that isn't too far from the truth, most of this spiral happens in the final 30-40 minutes, with the other 100 being quite run-of-the-mill. However, this isn't really a bad thing. They manage to keep us intrigued just enough to stop our eyes from drifting to count the cinema's lights, with a few very interesting and fun set pieces along the way.
The biggest thing that this movie depended on was its character work. If the 4-5 main characters weren't written as well as they turned out to be, this movie would've crashed and burned. At first, this seemed like it would be quite a story-driven narrative, due to the few action shots we see in the trailer; however, it turned out to be almost the opposite throughout a good amount of the runtime, obviously leaving space for a few fun moments to keep the action going.
I thought the most interesting character was Mark Rufallo's 'Lou'. He's a dishevelled cop who was once at the top of his game, but is now starting to become washed up as he obsesses over the "101 killer". He also - minor spoiler - grows to have nothing to lose throughout the course of the first act; however, I feel as if they could've done more with that idea. When you think of somebody, especially a police officer, who no longer has anything to lose or even really live for, you assume they'd be much more daring in their pursuits and possibly face danger much more head-on. However, in the case of Detective Lubesnick, he seems to act quite similarly to how he may have if he hadn't lost anything. Due to this, it feels as if those scenes served no greater purpose through the story, aside from making you want to see him succeed.
Another very interesting character was Halle Berry as 'Sharon'. She was one of the best in her high-profile insurance firm; however, she's now constantly being reminded that she is 'ageing out' of her role, which she refuses to accept. This leads her down such an interesting path of contact with our main character. At the start of the movie, she's afraid to step out of line or do anything extraordinary out of fear of damaging her chances at a major career step up that has been promised to her for years. Over the course of the first two acts, she realises that this promotion is never going to happen, and she begins to feel much more flippant towards her career trajectory, something that she was unknowingly stagnant in for many years. Due to this newfound independence, she ends up working with our main character, a prolific criminal, without too much of a worry.
Mark Ruffalo has said that the city of Los Angeles acted as almost another character in this story, and while I don't fully agree with that statement alone, the city does inform Chris Hemsworth's character in many ways, almost becoming a representation of him. This character, due to growing up in poverty and working his way up through organised crime, has seen all parts of LA, leading him to almost act as a modern Robin Hood figure for the city. He has been rich and poor, he has been beautiful and unassuming on the outside, yet somewhat ugly on the inside, just like the city of Los Angeles. However, we do see a hidden part of this character in the third act, in which he hesitates in a very interesting way.
Melissa Barbaro's character felt somewhat lacklustre to me. She was very obviously only present to give Chris Hemsworth's 'Mike' some depth and feel as if he has something to "do all this for". However, she felt very secondary and separate to the entire movie. This is best represented by the fact that she never interacts with any of the main cast, aside from Mike. I'd best compare her to Debbie from Baby Driver, in terms of her importance to the main character; however, Debbie was also an important part of the main story, it felt as if she was an active part of this world, rather than just something to give us a break from the action. It felt as if almost all the momentum built up would just immediately dissipate the moment we'd see Melissa Barbaro on screen. There is an argument to be made that this is because we're in Mike's point of view and, in his mind, nothing really matters when he's with her, like the world stops and any danger goes away. This is an interesting concept; however, if you have to bring the momentum of the movie to a halt - in a movie that thrives on its momentum - just to achieve this effect, it isn't worth it.
This movie does slow down slightly around the middle, partly for the reasons displayed above, but it never ceases with its tension building; you can feel it all throughout the movie. In this case, it feels important to distinguish the difference between momentum and tension in this context. The momentum of the movie is the ever-present feeling that we're moving forward toward a crescendo, and tension is the ever-present feeling that something is possibly around the corner, about to strike. While the Melissa Barbaro scenes do screech this movie to a halt, the tension remains throughout.
The car chases and driving sequences in this movie were possibly one of the most important things to get right, as it mostly all takes place along a freeway. Unsurprisingly, these moments are done absolutely incredibly. You really do feel as if you're in the car with the character, and you experience every little bump in the road as they do - literally and metaphorically. For this reason alone, this movie is worthy - or even necessary - of being seen in the cinema. That feeling simply can't be replicated at home.
Finally, while this movie does have its fair share of problems, none of them can compete with the joy you feel as you follow these heists, especially due to their incredible camerawork. If possible, I urge you to watch this movie in the biggest, loudest screen you can when it releases this Friday, February 13.