There are films that don't try to invent a new genre — they simply make a familiar story so stylish, expensive, and confident that you can't tear yourself away.
"Crime in Los Angeles" / Crime 101 — is exactly such a case.
The crime thriller by Bart Layton, based on a story by Don Winslow, was released worldwide on 13 February 2026. The story unfolds in sunny, expensive, and at the same time dangerous Los Angeles, where a series of daring heists gradually brings together a professional thief, an insurance broker, and a detective who has been on the trail for too long.
And here is where all the most interesting begins.
Magnificent action, luxury, and dynamics
The film is incredibly beautiful.
Expensive cars, jewelry, glass, concrete, night highways, sunny Los Angeles — everything is shot with that very sense of luxury that suits crime cinema so well.
The action is staged magnificently: without the feeling of cheap fuss, but with constant internal tension. Heists, surveillance, chases, negotiations — the film keeps the viewer in a state of anticipation: something is about to happen.
And it happens.
Moreover, not always what you expect.
Chris Hemsworth — unexpectedly good
The main role went to Chris Hemsworth, who plays Davis — a professional jewel thief who has been working by his own rules for years.
And here is a special pleasure.
We are used to seeing Hemsworth as a big, loud, physically powerful hero — from Thor to action movie heroes.
But here he is different.
Calm. Composed. Cold. Very attentive.
He doesn't try to constantly demonstrate strength — on the contrary, much of his character is built on restraint, calculation, and inner tension.
And that's exactly why the role works.
Hemsworth is magnificent.
Not because the others are worse — the cast here is very strong overall. It's just that this role is less familiar to him, and that makes it all the more interesting to watch how confidently he inhabits it.
Mark Ruffalo, Halle Berry and company
Mark Ruffalo plays Detective Lou Lubesnick, who gradually notices a pattern in the series of heists and begins to close in on Davis.
Ruffalo is wonderful here with his usual naturalness: no cardboard 'supercop.' His character is tired, smart, stubborn, and very human.
Halle Berry plays Sharon Combs — an insurance broker who unexpectedly gets drawn into Davis's story. And this is not a decorative female role next to the main character: she has her own storyline, personality, and decisions.
And then a real parade of actors begins.
Barry Keoghan — Ormon, a dangerous and completely unpredictable character.
Monica Barbaro — Maya. A film with Monica recently received a very high score from us in the romantic, fantastic melodrama "Only for One Night"
Corey Hawkins — Detective Tillman.
Jennifer Jason Leigh — Angie.
Nick Nolte — Money.
Also appearing in the film are Tate Donovan, Devon Bostick, Paul Adelstein, Payman Maadi, Babak Tafti and others.
And almost everyone gets at least a few minutes to be memorable.
The dialogue is a separate delight
It's a rare case when you want to quote the film after almost every other scene.
There are many very precise phrases here — about money, age, choice, fear, freedom, crime, love, and that moment in life when a person suddenly realizes that the previous version of themselves no longer fits.
So we won't even provide individual quotes.
There are too many of them. And almost all of them you want to take with you.
Despite its external criminal shell, the film unexpectedly speaks a lot about the midlife crisis and about people who at some point ask themselves: "What's next?"
But there is one big problem
The film runs approximately 2 hours 20 minutes.
And here we will nitpick.
It is too long.
And significantly so.
If at least 30–40 minuteswere cut from the film,
our score would be even higher. There are scenes that are wonderful in themselves but begin to blur the pace a little. Somewhere the director lingers too long enjoying the atmosphere, somewhere he lets characters stay in conversations longer than necessary.
And this is especially noticeable because everything else is shot very dynamically.
You literally want to take editing scissors and say:
"This is beautiful. Now a little faster."
And the unusual ending
The finale here is also not quite what crime thrillers usually offer.
No spoilers.
Let's just say it doesn't mechanically put everyone in their place in the spirit of "the good got their reward, the bad got their punishment."
The ending is a bit stranger, calmer, and more interesting.
It suits the film well because in the end it turns out to be not so much a movie about a heist as a movie about choice.
About that moment when you can still turn back.
And about the moment when it's already too late.
Gaya's verdict
"Heist in Los Angeles" is a stylish, mature, and very beautiful crime thriller.
Magnificent action.
Luxury.
Dynamics.
A wonderful cast.
And Chris Hemsworth, who unexpectedly shows himself from a different side.
Yes, the film should have been made shorter.
But otherwise — enjoy.
Gaya's verdict — 8.5/10.
