STORYLINE: Set against the sun-bleached grit of Los Angeles, CRIME 101 weaves the tale of an elusive thief (Chris Hemsworth) whose high-stakes heists unfolding along the iconic 101 freeway have mystified police. When he eyes the score of a lifetime with hopes of this being his final job, his path collides with a disillusioned insurance broker (Halle Berry) who is facing her own crossroads, forcing the two to collaborate. Determined to crack the case, a relentless detective (Mark Ruffalo) closes in on the operation, raising the stakes even higher. As the multimillion-dollar heist approaches, the line between hunter and hunted begins to blur, and all three are forced to confront the cost of their choices – and the realization that there’s no turning back. (IMDb)

   The heist is on!  1995’s Heat is the sets a high standard for genre. Hell or High Water (2016) is a slick heist flick, while Inception (2010) crosses the heist genre with the science fiction genre. Towed Heist (2011) made a comedy out of the genre, even though it’s not the greatest piece of cinena. Halle Berry, Mark Ruffalo, and Chris Hemsworth team up for the new heist feature Crime101.

   Not all heist features are action packed.  Crime 101 minimizes the action, trading it for a slow build up, to a tense climax.  With the slow build up, the tension is not all in the climax, but throughout the motion picture.  It is in the way that Crime 101 stands out.

    But why diamonds?  It seems like the majority of heist films go for diamonds, or banks. The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) went for art and both the 1974 and 2000 Gone in 69 Secibda boosted cars.  Side note, the 1974 Gone in 60 Seconds is a whole lot of fun.  In that regard Crine 101 does not stand out as a heist flick. 

    In the end, Crime 101 is a heist movie that builds tension, rather than flashy action sequences ti entertain its viewers, even though it is not the most original of movies. 

    Until next time I will see you at the movies!