“Crime 101” attempts to bring some personality and substance to its familiar crime thriller plot. Although the overall result does not surpass its countless seniors such as, yes, Michael Mann’s “Heat” (1995), the movie has a number of solid individual moments to justify its rather long running time (140 minutes), and I came to care about its story and characters a bit more than expected.

The story, which is mainly set in LA, begins with the latest jewel robbery of a professional criminal played by Chris Hemsworth. As the movie gradually reveals his plan, we observe how methodical and discreet this criminal is, and we are not so surprised to learn later that he has evaded the attention of the LA Police Department for some time despite having already committed several other jewel robberies.

However, there is actually someone in LAPD who has paid attention to those criminal activities of Hemsworth’s criminal character. He is Detective Lou Lubesnick (Mark Ruffalo), and this veteran cop is smart and perceptive enough to see the patten of his mysterious suspect. He notices that 1) the suspect has always committed the robberies around US Highway 101 and 2) the suspect also does not want any unnecessary harm or violence at all. Sure, the suspect often used some intimidation for getting the jobs done as quickly as possible, but, so far, nobody has ever got seriously hurt.

Unfortunately, Lubesnick’s theory on this elusive criminal in question has not been received well by his colleagues. While he tries to stand by Lubesnick as much as possible, Lubesnick’s partner seriously begins to consider distancing himself more from Lubesnick. In case of Lubesnick’s direct superior, he does not want any annoyance from Lubesnick at all, mainly because he cares more about the number of arrests per year and Lubesnick has been showing the lowest arrest rate among the detectives under his command.

Meanwhile, the story also focuses on Sharon Combs (Halle Berry), an insurance broker who has worked in some prominent insurance company for many years but has not received much reward or appreciation. Despite her diligent efforts, it seems that Combs will never become a senior partner of the company, and we come to gather how much she struggles everyday. No matter how much she tries to calm and soothe herself, she is always reminded that she is not that well under her growing stress and anxiety, and she gets all the more frustrated when it becomes more apparent that she will be pushed aside for some younger woman who recently began to work in the company.

Steadily rolling its three main characters toward the expected finale, the screenplay by director/writer/co-producer Bart Layton, which is based on the novella of the same name by Don Winslow, adds more mood and details to the story. We see more of how messy Lubesnick’s life is just like Combs’, and there is a bitter conversation scene between him and his estranged wife. We also come to learn that Hemsworth’s criminal character, whose real name is incidentally revealed later in the story, hopes that he can quit once he reaches the goal set by himself in advance, but that seems not that possible considering a sinister old man for whom he has worked. 

Things get a little more tense when some other criminal enters the picture. In contrast to Hemsworth’s criminal character, this dude, played by Barry Keoghan, is quite impulsive and reckless to say the least, and we can instantly sense troubles right from his very first appearance in the film. As being subsequently cornered by not only this competitor of his but also Lubesnick’s ongoing pursuit, Hemsworth’s criminal character becomes all the more desperate, and he naturally goes all the way for, yes, his one last job.

 Again, the movie takes time as before for more development in terms of story and character. While we are not so surprised as its three main characters come to converge upon a certain narrative point, we are touched by some genuine emotional moments from each of them. There is some real poignancy from the accidental romance between Hemsworth’s criminal character and a woman he comes across by sheer coincidence, and then we get a quiet but sincere moment when Lubesnick comes to show more common sense and compassion during his meeting with Combs, who becomes more conflicted as she gets herself involved with both Lubesnick and his suspect.

The finale feels a bit contrived in my humble opinion, but the four main performers of the movie carry the story to the end. Hemsworth, who seems to be moving onto the next phase of his acting career after spending a lot of time in Marvel Cinematic Universe flicks, holds the center as well as required, and his stoic appearance makes an effective contrast with the volatile attitude of Keoghan, whose distinctive offbeat quality brings some extra fun to the film. Mark Ruffalo and Halle Berry dutifully fill their respective spots with each own presence, and several other cast members including Monica Barbaro, Corey Hawkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nick Nolte, Tate Donovan, and Payman Maadi are well-cast in their respective supporting parts.

In conclusion, “Crime 101” does not bring anything new to its familiar genre territory, but it still works well as an engaging mix between genre exercise and character study, and Layton, who previously drew our attention for his compelling documentary film “The Imposter” (2012), did a competent job on the whole. The movie did not surprise me, but I observed it with enough interest nonetheless, so I will not grumble for now.