![]() The film is super fun to watch, on account of the charming facade of those three Hong Kong screen icons. The penultimate HK picture of action-tastemaker John Woo before he was signed up to conquer Hollywood-land in 1993, ONCE A THIEF reunites Chow and Cheung from Woo's most esteemed A BETTER TOMORROW franchise, teams up with Cherie Chung (who would soon get married and retire entirely from the screen) in this ultra-breezy ménage-à-trois caper, which, at the start, sets its adventurous background in an exotic France, then after the midstream, routinely retreats back to Woo's turf to anticipate its bullets-flying homestretch. Still, this isn't a film I'd want to see again – unlike John Woo's next movie, his outstanding HARD BOILED. Highlights include a magician whose tricks are deadly and an excellent exploding microwave moment. There are a few twists and turns which are fun to watch and, as mentioned, a great action climax. Leslie Cheung gives a great performance as Yun-Fat's buddy although Cherie Chung is relegated to 'irritating sidekick'. The heist sequences are handled well and the later complexities of the plot are worth watching, although a long time in coming. Sometimes Yun-Fat is cute and funny and at other times he acts like a real idiot. Also, the humour is completely ridiculous too, absolutely stupid in places, and not really something Western audiences will enjoy. Woo is so intent on referencing his favourite European directors he forgets to put any substance with the style. There's time for stunts too, with cars rolling down stone steps during one frenetic chase scene and a truly wild climax which is up there with his best as director. There will be romance, quirky humour, and then suddenly a dozen automatic weapon-wielding thugs show up and start shooting the heck out of the scenery. For starters, I love John Woo action and it's in short supply here, although he still has time to throw in two or three massive shoot-outs on the kind of scale you know and love. Eschewing the exploration of morality in his earlier films, he sets out with this caper movie which sees Chow Yun-Fat on winning form as an art thief persuaded to take one last job. He'd had enough of excess violence and bloodshed and wanted to make a more light-hearted flick, which is where ONCE A THIEF comes in. Both films were directed by John Woo.Having made the extremely dark and violent films THE KILLER and BULLET IN THE HEAD one after the other, John Woo was in need of a break. Once a Thief (1996), a Canadian television film remake starring with Nicholas Lea and Ivan Sergei that was later spun off into a television series of the same name which ran from 1997 to 1998.Doyle Wallis of DVD Talk rated it 2.5/5 stars and called it "an odd and annoyingly silly entry during most creative period". Chris Gould of rated the film 5/10 and wrote that there was too much slapstick. Kevin Lee DVD Verdict wrote that the film has "a lack of focus and an uneven tone". Club wrote that Woo's style makes up for the film's implausibility and lack of logic. It includes the two action films Bullet in the Head and The Killer. Eight months later, on 5 September 2005, the John Woo Collection, a four-disc DVD set, was released. On 27 December 2004, Hong Kong Legends released a DVD in the United Kingdom. ![]() It included no special features beyond trailers. Ĭolumbia Tri-Star released it on DVD in the United States on 22 April 2003. The film grossed HK$33,397,149 in Hong Kong. Le Bond is later murdered by Chow's henchmen as a loose end. Pierre-Yves Burton as Mr Le Bond, a Frenchman who hires Joey, and James to steal a painting, but later betrays them.John Tang Yat-gwan as Young Red Bean Pudding.However, Pudding returns in a wheelchair, and the group begins planning their next heist for themselves, fall out of favour with Chow, and various complications and gun battles ensue. After a heist in France goes awry, Red Bean Pudding is thought to be dead and James takes his place as Red Bean's lover. Nevertheless, the trio grows up learning high-tech methods of theft and specialise in stealing treasured paintings. They are taken in by both a wealthy crime boss which leads to their close friendship, and a kind police officer. The story is about three orphans and their two father figures. The film was released on 2 February 1991, before the lucrative Chinese Lunar New Year holiday season. The film stars Chow Yun-fat, Leslie Cheung, Cherie Chung, Kenneth Tsang and Paul Chu. Once a Thief ( Chinese: 縱橫四海 Literal Title: Criss-Cross Over Four Seas) is a 1991 Hong Kong heist comedy film directed by John Woo, who also wrote the screenplay with Janet Chun and Clifton Ko.
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