Crime 101 Parent Guide
Slick and competent, this heist flick is burdened by a surprising amount of profanity.
Parent Movie Review
Mike Davis (Chris Hemsworth) considers himself to be a civilized jewel thief. He’s meticulous, organized, and eschews violence. Even his private life is tidy, with no mementos and no current entanglements. Then he has a falling out with his fence (Nick Nolte) and meets a forthright young woman (Monica Barbaro). Life is about to get complicated.
Detective Lou Lebesnick (Mark Ruffalo) is determined to catch the untraceable jewel thief who’s known for his careful, non-violent heists. His lack of success is slowing his career, and he’s being hounded by his supervisors. What he needs is a break – and it looks like a tiny drop of blood might provide one.
Sharon Combs (Halle Berry) is a high-end insurance broker, who specializes in offering customized policies to the ultra-rich. The promise of a partnership has been dangled before her for years, and she’s getting tired of waiting. After a humiliating encounter with her boss, Sharon meets Mike, and he offers her a lucrative proposition….
I went into this film with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised. Don’t get your hopes up: this isn’t Oscar material, but it’s a perfectly competent heist flick. The movie carefully builds up the main character’s backstories, explains their motivations, and follows them down the rest of the twisty plot. It’s a nice change to watch an action flick that gives the characters some weight. It’s also great to watch a film that proceeds in a linear fashion, not constantly jumping around between flashbacks and current action. If you’re looking for an easy-to-follow but still exciting heist flick, Crime 101 could be on the menu for you.
That said, the movie comes with plenty of challenges, the biggest of which is negative content. There are the expected shoot-em-up moments and plenty of car chases (which I find dull but most action fans enjoy) and there is some implied sex and a brief glimpse of a pornographic website. The real surprise is the sheer volume of profanity in this film. The f-bombs come so fast that I know I undercounted them, but my tally is over 90 sexual expletives and another two dozen or so cuss words. If you dislike swearing in your movies, you’ll definitely want to take a miss on this one.
I also have a few other issues with the film; primarily the repeated assertions that Davis is not violent. Sure, he doesn’t shoot anyone, but he repeatedly threatens people with firearms. As anyone involved in law enforcement knows, this can deeply traumatize victims and witnesses for years. Davis might not be a killer, but he certainly uses guns to get what he wants and that makes him a criminal in my book. I’m also irked by the choices made by Detective Lebesnick in the movie’s climactic scene: having spent the film moving Lebesnick’s character in one direction, it’s jarring to see the script change the trajectory. I’m not sure it will bug most viewers, but it certainly annoyed me. That’s too bad, because there is an interesting film here, and it’s almost a crime to mess it up.
Directed by Bart Layton. Starring Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Halle Berry. Running time: 140 minutes. Theatrical release February 13, 2026. Updated April 7, 2026About author
Watch the trailer for Crime 101
Crime 101
Rating & Content Info
Why is Crime 101 rated R? Crime 101 is rated R by the MPAA for language throughout, some violence and sexual material/nudity.
Violence: There are frequent scenes of firearms violence. Guns are used as part of criminal activities. People are shot, sometimes lethally. A man is shot dead by a police officer who places a gun in his hand to justify the shooting. A civilian is shot in a robbery and blood seeps from his shoulder. During a robbery, the thief attacks employees, pulling a woman by the hair and hits people with his gun. A man bites another during a struggle. A woman is attacked and left with a black eye. There are frequent scenes of physical combat involving punching and shoving. There are frequent scenes of reckless driving, which sometimes lead to accidents. In one car accident, a person is thrown from a motorcycle.
Sexual Content: There is a brief scene between a man and a scantily clad prostitute: sex is implied but not seen. A man and woman kiss and are later seen lying together in bed but no sexual activity is shown on screen. There is a brief glimpse of a pornographic website: women’s breasts are visible. One man tells another to “relax and get laid”. There are scenes of women wearing clothing that reveal deep cleavage.
Profanity: The script features over 90 sexual expletives, 16 scatological curses, eight terms of deity, an a couple of minor profanities.
Alcohol / Drug Use: A main character smokes cigarettes. Adults drink alcohol with meals or in social situations.
Page last updated April 7, 2026
Home Video
Related home video titles:
Heist movies are enduringly popular. For a light-hearted option, you can try Now You See Me, which is followed by Now You See Me 2, and Now You See Me: Now You Don’t.
Another enduringly favorite film franchise is Ocean’s Eleven, which leads into Ocean’s Twelve, Ocean’s Thirteen, before segueing into Ocean’s 8.
Also light and action packed is Red Notice, which benefits from the chemistry between its cast: Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Not quite a heist but definitely a con is The Sting, one of the best caper films of all time, which comes with an unforgettable soundtrack and the talents of Robert Redford and Paul Newman. Robert Reford also stars as an aging bank robber in The Old Man and the Gun.