After more than a decade of hammer-throwing as Marvel’s Thor, leading Netflix’s Extraction franchise, and popping up in everything from The Huntsman: Winter’s War to Men in Black: International, Australian actor Chris Hemsworth has built a résumé that most studios trust with big blockbuster budgets. But his latest film, Crime 101, isn’t just another CGI-heavy action-packed crowd-pleaser. It actually might be one of his best films, or at least one of the best-reviewed projects of his career.
Set for release on February 13, 2026, Crime 101 currently holds an 89% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing. It ranks above Avengers: Infinity War (2018), which sits at 85%, and matches the scores of Rush (2013) and Transformers One (2024) at 89%. Only a handful of his films climb higher: Avengers: Endgame (2019) and Star Trek (2009) lead with 94%, followed closely by Thor: Ragnarok (2017) at 93% and The Cabin in the Woods (2011) at 92%.
But the biggest surprise is that Crime 101 isn’t a big IP, a superhero spectacle, an action flick or a franchise sequel. It’s an R-rated, 140-minute crime thriller directed by Bart Layton, based on Don Winslow’s novel, with a middish budget. You know, the kind of film Hollywood hardly makes anymore.
Layton’s film is being compared to Heat. In fact, you can feel that influence in the pacing and tension. Hemsworth plays a highly methodical jewel thief orchestrating high-level robberies along the 101 Freeway. Police initially link the crimes to Colombian cartels, but seasoned detective Lou Lubesnick, played by Mark Ruffalo, sees a pattern others miss. He narrows his focus to one man chasing a final score. Halle Berry steps in as an insurance broker whose path crosses with Hemsworth’s character at exactly the wrong time.
Sure, we’ve seen variations of this story before. A thief planning one last job. A detective closing in. Personal lines getting blurred. But it’s the execution that matters. And based on these reviews, he’s got a winner.
Next up, Hemsworth reprises Thor in Avengers: Doomsday, directed by the Russo Brothers and scheduled for December 18, 2026. Hemsworth will also appear as himself in Stuntnuts: The Movie, tied to the Kick-Ass universe, and star in Subversion, a submarine-based action thriller directed by Patrick Vollrath, which began production in 2025.
For now, though, Crime 101 stands out in his body of work. It proves that Chris Hemsworth is more than just an action hero.
Crime 101 will be released in cinemas on 12 February 2026.
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