Movie review
February 11, 2026 · 141 min · R
Woke Score
Lower is better
Not currently streaming in United States
Review
Crime 101 is a heist thriller about a professional jewel thief who pulls off neat robberies along a California highway. A smart, messy detective tries to catch him while a bitter insurance broker gets caught up in the scheme. The film has a subtheme about corporate sexism, showing a woman being passed over for a job by her male bosses. This gender-struggle plot is visible but does not take over the main action.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Crime 101.
Woke representation / casting
Halle Berry is cast in a prominent co-leading role as Sharon, a capable insurance broker, and Corey Hawkins plays Detective Tillman. These casting choices represent visible modern diversity. Sharon's storyline also highlights identity struggles with corporate sexism, reflecting a noticeable representation priority that goes beyond simple story necessity but remains integrated into the plot.
Woke political dialogue
The script is mostly a standard heist thriller, but it contains brief moments of explicit commentary on gender and age discrimination. This occurs during Sharon's interactions with her slimy boss, who makes rude remarks about her advanced age and denies her a partnership promotion.
Identity-driven story themes
Sharon's character arc is driven by her feelings of marginalization as a middle-aged woman in a corporate "boys' club". This professional frustration acts as the catalyst for her decision to turn to crime and assist a thief. While this identity struggle is central to her character's motivations, the broader film is a conventional cat-and-mouse heist story.
Western institutional / cultural critique
The film critiques the toxic corporate culture of a high-end insurance firm, painting the male leadership as sexist gatekeepers. However, this is treated as a personal motivator to justify Sharon's turn to crime, rather than a systemic activist attack on capitalism or Western institutions.
Production
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
The film avoided major mainstream controversy, but minor online backlash from some right-leaning viewers emerged. These complaints focused on the film's "men keeping a woman down" corporate subplot and some initial viewer hesitation due to Mark Ruffalo's real-life progressive political views.
Creator track record context
The creative background is mixed. While novella writer Don Winslow and producer Shane Salerno have strong progressive footprints, director Bart Layton and actor-producer Chris Hemsworth are largely neutral, resulting in a mild overall aggregate.
