Customer Reviews

Once a Thief: Family Business

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4 star:		(1)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I hadn't realized this was a TV episode when I watched the film. This movie was part of a "Man Cave" 8 pack. I managed to pick up the needed background information during the feature. What made this film different was the 18 year old mafia "valley girl" leader who was reckless and funny taking over the family business. When she wasn't on the screen, or the fiery red head, the movie was pretty much of a bust.

The couldn't have sex and nudity so the give us some cleavage, a peep show, and a girl on a trampoline. Victoria Pratt plays the 18 year old mafia leader who looks closer to 30 than 18 by the wrinkles around her eyes.

The whole premise that the government has some secret intelligence force and uses Mission Impossible type gadgets to go after organized crime is inane. Normally they have someone on the payroll acting as a double agent in order to get information.

Not worth the view unless you are into the characters who happen to be on the lame side.

For those of you who will buy John Woo's "Once A Thief" DVD series/TV-movies, please take note: I bought "John Woo's Once a Thief - Brother Against Brother" and "John Woo's Once a Thief - Family Business." The DVDs inside were switched! In other words, the actual DVD DISC, though labeled "Brother Against Brother," contained the movie "Family Business." And vice versa!

So I suggest that you buy "Family Business" and "Brother Against Brother" together, and just switch the DVDs inside. (I just wrote on the DVD itself with a Sharpie to properly label the movie contained.)

I received this DVD as a gift. I like John Woo's work, so I thought this would be a good film. The tag line is "they only stop to unload." After 35 minutes with very little action or plot development and listening to wooden characters echo poorly written lines ("I feel like the last living cell in a human body" "If it helps, I'm sorry"/"Well, it doesn't help" / "Well, I'm still sorry.") I turned it off.