“Crime 101” takes a lot of swings. Many are foul balls. Some are singles. And there’s one or two home runs in there as well.

Yet somehow, the movie often feels like a grand slam.

The film follows a Los Angeles detective who pursues an elusive thief teaming up with an insurance broker for one last heist.

A Stacked Cast Delivers

The stacked cast alone makes “Crime 101” worth watching. It features Chris Hemsworth (Davis), Mark Ruffalo (Lou), Halle Berry (Sharon) and Barry Keoghan (Ormon).

“We sort of reached for the stars and amazingly, they said yes,” director Bart Layton said in the post-premiere Q&A.

Hemsworth is the cold and quiet lead. He is calculated at every turn, with minimalist delivery and mannerisms. While his performance feels emotionless at times, that’s by design. He plays a purposefully underwritten, mysterious character, and he does so well.

Ruffalo and Berry succeed as well, though they both have much less to do. Ruffalo delivers some comedic relief, while Berry is the emotional anchor the audience is meant to champion. Both are relatable in their own ways, with the performances echoing these sentiments.

Keoghan is given the least amount of screen time, and he chews up every minute. He’s the definition of chaotic, with his trembling delivery and physicality adding to the film’s unpredictable nature. You never know his next move, and Keoghan sells this.

“You don’t know what he’s going to do within the scene,” Hemsworth said. “He’s kind of biting me on the hand at one point, which I didn’t know was coming.”

Style and Structure Carry the Story

“Crime 101” succeeds with its bold tri-story approach. Layton meticulously puts the pieces together throughout the 140-minute runtime before they all converge.

Is it overindulgent? Definitely. But a lot of this still works.

It’s so effective because of the moral ambiguity within. Each character, maybe outside of Keoghan’s, can be rooted for in some way. Each has good and bad sides, allowing the audience to form their own interpretation of their actions along the way.

“Crime 101” cinematographer Erik Wilson nails the Los Angeles imagery. The chaos of the city is captured well, both on a vast scale and in intimate moments. The film often transitions by showing lines of cars driving on the interstate, then moves into gritty car chases through busy intersections and tight alleyways. It utilizes the location well, and it proves impressive because it does so in more ways than one.

The camerawork ends up being key to the film’s identity. Even in quiet moments, it’s constantly moving to make the audience feel anxiety, emotion or tension. As a car door closes, the camera follows it. As a character walks, it rotates with their movement. These simple techniques add an abundance of style to even the actionless moments.

Overlong But Satisfying Ride

With all of that being said, “Crime 101” is way too long. Despite Layton revealing that it was originally longer, even this cut proves tedious. Within the film, there is so much waiting for what’s to come.

As a whole, it culminates in satisfying fashion. However, this isn’t true for all the character arcs. Berry’s character, specifically, has an ending that feels all too derivative and unimportant to the completed story as a whole.

Keoghan’s character is also underutilized. Giving him a similar approach to the other individuals would have been beneficial. Instead, he feels more like a side piece, ultimately less important in contrast to the three leads.

“Crime 101” is a crime thriller overstuffed with ideas. The stacked cast chews up the scenery in every moment of this stylish and gritty throwback.

Rating: 4 out of 5