Crime 101

Not so much a thriller as a “puzzler.” There are three protagonists: a thief, an insurance investigator, and a cop. We’ll call them Thor, Storm, and Hulk. They each have mean bosses and personal problems. And the only way to solve the plot puzzle and get the bag of diamonds is to combine as a trio and work together. Like a rotating Rubik’s cube, Tetris, or some other geometric brain teaser, committing to one thing often offsets another thing. Also, with any puzzle, there’s misdirection. And that’s when my brain starts misfiring and rewiring. Next thing you know, Thor gets rear-ended in traffic by a pretty love interest and all I can think is, “She’s in on it!” Because puzzles, right? Unfortunately, it’s not really a thrilling action movie. All of the action is happening in my poor brain as it tries to solve and write the movie. Unlike a quintessential noir (which this very much is), there’s a hopeful ending not akin to William Holden floating dead in a swimming pool. And that’s nice.