Crime 101 is a Car Movie … Yeah, Really

I just finished watching Crime 101, starring Chris Hemsworth, Halle Berry and Mark Ruffalo.

Most people would describe it as a crime heist thriller. And they're not wrong.

But for a car guy like me? I watched a car movie. Here's why.

The Movie Deliberately Uses Cars to Punctuate Key Moments

‘68 Camaro in Crime 101 - DAMN!

Let me set aside the car chase sequences for a moment — they're good, though not quite at the level of Baby Driver. What's more interesting is how this film uses cars to mark character moments rather than just action sequences.

When Mark Ruffalo's detective character first meets up with his partner, his partner immediately calls him out for driving an old piece of junk. Ruffalo's character defends it strongly. It's a small moment but it tells you everything about who Lou is — stubborn, principled, not interested in appearances.

Then there's the scene where Chris Hemsworth's character first meets Halle Berry's. To make the moment land, he tells her that if she can correctly guess his car, she can have it. She gets the colour right — Racing Green — but guesses the wrong car. It's actually a stunning '68 Camaro. The reveal is genuinely great.

And then there's the first meeting between Ruffalo and Hemsworth's characters — which multiple critics have already compared to the famous Robert De Niro and Al Pacino coffee scene in Heat. Strong exchange, controlled tension, both sides knowing exactly what's happening beneath the surface. What Crime 101 adds to that dynamic is a Steve McQueen and Bullitt reference that feels earned in the moment and pays off later in the film. It's a cool layering that rewards car people specifically.

I won't spoil the ending, but there's a closing moment involving a car that completes a character arc in a way that felt genuinely satisfying.

The Filmmakers Clearly Know Their Cars

I'm a JDM guy at heart — but I know a good car when I see one regardless of origin.

Chris Hemsworth's character drives a Dodge Challenger as his everyday car when he's not pulling off a heist. It's not entirely clear whether it's a Hellcat spec, but it doesn't matter — the Challenger has a screen presence that few cars can match. That long hood. That wide stance. The hood scoop. It fills the frame in a way that communicates everything about the character without a single line of dialogue. One of my closest friends owns a Challenger Scat Pack in manual transmission and that thing is genuinely fast — so when Hemsworth is chasing someone down in that car on screen, I completely believe it.

Then there's the detail that really got me. When Hemsworth's character needs to play the role of a security driver doing an airport pickup, he rolls up in a blacked-out Cadillac CT5 — and it looks like a Black Wing spec. That is a serious car. Most viewers probably won't register it. Car people will. It felt like a deliberate nod from the filmmakers to the enthusiasts in the audience — a little wink that says we did our homework.

And then there's the '68 Camaro.

Think about how often a classic American muscle car shows up in a major film. It's almost always a Mustang — Bullitt, John Wick, Gone in 60 Seconds. If it's not a Mustang, it might be a Dodge Charger or a Chevy Chevelle. The '68 Camaro almost never gets its moment. So when it appeared in Crime 101 looking the way it did, my reaction was immediate and genuine.

Damn.

If you want to go deeper on the Camaro specifically, there's a good spoiler-heavy article linked here that breaks down its role in the film.

Final Thought

I love car movies — whether they're fully car-focused like Baby Driver or Bullitt, or films that simply give car culture a meaningful nod the way Crime 101 does. Both are valuable.

Because here's the thing — the more sports cars appear in entertainment and popular culture, the more they stay in the cultural conversation. And the more they stay in the cultural conversation, the harder it becomes for car manufacturers to ignore them. As I wrote in my post on why sports cars matter to brand strategy, the case for building great sports cars isn't just about enthusiasts. It's about what those cars do for a brand's identity in the broader culture.

Crime 101 is now streaming on Prime Video. Watch it as a crime thriller if you want. But if you're a car person, watch it differently.

You'll notice things most people won't.