Customer Reviews

Once a Thief

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This movie didn't seem to know what kind of genre of movie it wanted to become. It started as a action thriller movie but gradually, it started to wander into a slapstick comedy. The plots were rather forgettable & at times, out of this world but the breathtaking scenes taken in Paris & Cannes, performances by those 3 main stars with solid supporting actors definitely worth the while to relive the magic of HK movie making. This movie enabled you to catch a glimpse of the other side of Chow Yuen Fatt ie. being funny. His versatility is what made him an international star today. If memory serves me rite, this would be Cherry's final movie before she was married to a businessman. How I wish she could stay longer in the movie industry as her performance was always a breath of fresh air aka. refreshing. Leslie Cheung hadn't come out of age then but his talent definitely showed thru. Highly recommended for a John Woo fan.

John Woo mixes it up in "Once a Thief." There are some beautiful images and sequences as is to be expected from Woo and he's in true form here. The story is a little weak and the slapstick is almost too much (it's fine in & of itself, but it's almost like two different movies).

Chow Yun Fat and Leslie Chung are great and Woo provides ample subtext to be going on under the rain of bullets. Not as stunning as "Hard Boiled" or as kinetically rivetting as "The Killer", it's still a good flick & fun to watch.

This is a definite change from the usual John Woo movies. It's a very light-hearted, comedic movie with a pinch of romance and of course action sequences. Chow Yun Fatt, Leslie Chueng and Cherie Chung are all wonderful in the movie, but it is Chow Yun Fatt who steals most of the scenes. The 3 have a great comradery and the viewer is let in on how their relationships are interwoven with flashbacks. The movie plot is one that is familiar and similar to the better known American version of the movie, but John Woo has made this his own with the addition of a splendid sub-plot and twist at the end. A very good fun movie, will leave you light-hearted and smiling at the end of it.

The film starts out breezy enough. Likable trio of art thiefs mastermind elaborate heists in Paris. Afterwards they toast their laurels and have a jolly good time. You almost forget you're watching a John Woo film. Never fear. Guns start ablazing. Things blow up real good. Bad guys eat lead. It's soon revealed that Joey(Chow Yun-Fat), Jim (Leslie Cheung), and Cherie(Cherie Leung) were raised by an evil father figure who taught them petty thievery at the threat of a caning or starvation. The three grow up to be master criminals employed by evil Daddy's thriving Hong Kong crime syndicate. Heavy stuff but Woo is in top form here juggling thrills and levity along with the film's darker themes. The film also contains enough clever twists and surprises to satisfy the more discerning viewer. Yun-Fat is in top form here as the devil-may-care Joey. Yun-Fat commands the screen as both comedian and action star. This may not be the equivalent of Woo's masterworks, "The Killer" and "Hard Boiled", but it is an impressive entry in the directors canon.

Not as 'heavy' and full of action as many of Woo's other early films such as The Killer, Hardboiled, A Better Tommorrow etc. A bit of a change of pace for Woo and well done. Three street kids pull off a big heist.

Woo remade this film for TV with disastoruous results so make sure you are buying the one starring Chow Yun Fat.

If you like John Woo, this is one movie you don't want to miss!

This movie is packed with John Woo's classic action, romance humor and cleverness. The story line is simple enough that you don't have to read the subtitles; just sit back and enjoy the actions and jokes.

The cast is another excellent choice of Woo! Teaming up Yun-Fat (as Joe) the cool, heroic figure and Leslie Cheung (as Jim) the pretty, cleaver boy, plus Cherie Chung (as Cherie the cute girl next door, you got endless action and fun!

As to all of my friends, I highly recommend this movie to you!

A favourite among Chow Yun-Fat fans, Once A Thief shows the lighter side of Chow's acting, whilst giving the audience plenty of action. The three main leads are the perfect combination and look perfectly at home in the Paris locations in the first half of the film. Only Hong Kong could make such a dizzying blend of action, comedy and romance.

After the emotional wreck of a masterpiece that was Bullet in the Head, director John Woo rightfully felt the need to loosen up. Hence this fluffy, downright silly, often enjoyable caper movie that merges the casts of The Killer (Chow Yun-fat, Kenneth Tsang, Chu Kong) and A Better Tomorrow (Leslie Cheung) while carving out a broad comedic tone that harkens back to Woo's older, lowbrow slapsticks (Plain Jane to the Rescue, From Riches to Rags).

Chow Yun-fat has a field day in this film, hamming it up as "Cupcake/Joey" (depending on your translation), a master burglar who becomes wheelchair-bound in a job gone wrong. Some of the gags are quite forced, but when Chow is given a chance for physical comedy in the wheelchair, he's a lot of fun. Leslie Cheung anchors the film as the acrobatic Jim, who is both Chow's best friend and his closest competitor for the affection of "Red Bean/Cherie", their sister-in-crime. Kenneth Tsang's character is pretty ridiculous, though the veteran actor does his best, but the surprise delight is seeing Chu Kong, so deadly serious in The Killer, loosen up to play a kindly but none too bright cop who takes the three young people in as proteges. Woo's action choreography is dazzling as ever, and far less violent than his usual works (though still pretty high in body count compared with American action-comedies), and the best set pieces of this film (the card-throwing punk, the centerpiece second heist featuring a lot of explosives) are high entertainment.

This DVD edition has been out for some time and it took me this long to check it out -- the packaging just doesn't inspire confidence. The contents herein partially affirm this suspicion. The transfer is clean, and it's great that they included the Cantonese dialogue track as an audio option. But there's something wrong with the sound mix; the music is far too loud, often drowning out the Cantonese dialogue, and I know from an old VHS copy of this film I own that the original sound mix didn't have this problem. There are also nearly no bonus materials, just trailers. It's probably harder to find bonus materials for Hong Kong films, and perhaps it's unfair to compare this to the multitude of features on the Criterion releases of The Killer and Hard-Boiled, but nonetheless, the special materials are out there in the vaults. Later UK releases of Hard-Boiled and The Killer do have added materials for us to peruse. So it's a matter of hunting it down and including it.

An adequate DVD for a problematic but mostly enjoyable film.

This film is a great break from John Woo's gritty actioners. Don't think this movie doesn't have its double gunned action though. A superb mix of humor, action, and scenery make this Woo flick a freshing look at the director's range. Reuniting Mr. Chow with Cantopop superstar Leslie Cheung (Kit in a Better Tomorrow I & II), This film also brings in the subjects of loyalty and betrayal. With beautiful and vivid scenery, this film should not be overlooked. Make sure not to confuse this with the terrible "made for TV" video, based on this masterpeice.

This isn't your run of the mill action comedy. The fact that John Wo's name is on it tells you there's lots of violence, but it makes the show more exciting to see all the gunfighting. I thought it was great. This is probably my favorite Chow Yun-Fat movie. Amazing, as always. He kind of reminds me of an Asian Cary Grant in this show. I'd tell you more, but this is the kind of movie that's ruined if you know too much. See it for yourself. Grab some popcorn and sit back and enjoy the wild ride.