Dodookdeul

The Thieves, a heist movie is based out of Macau/Hong Kong. A team of Korean thieves team up with a group of Chinese thieves, 9 of them working under a main guy. Think Ocean's 11 + "All for the money, one for the revenge, every man for himself" + Korean Cinema, a...Co-Ed version?

A lot of people seem to have liked this one more than Ocean's 11, so you get the idea of what kind of movie this is like. This movie is also on the top 10 most watched, and highest grossing Korean movies of all times.

Sharing how similar/different it is from the Ocean's movies will give away a whole lot so I'd rather refrain from doing that. But I will say that if you like heist movies, and like movies with twists, this movie has both. Surely check it out, in that case.

Finally I got a chance to watch "The Thieves" ("Dodookdeul"), and the wait was well worth it. This movie was fantastic in every aspect.

The story is about a group of Korean and Hong Kong thieves who come together for a mutual heist to steal a very expensive diamond. But things take a turn for the worse and the heist doesn't go as planned. Alliances are forged and broken, and the game of deception runs high, and just what is honor amongst thieves truly worth?

I will say that the storyline was compelling and interesting. Sure it could be compared to "Oceans Eleven" and with elements of "Mission Impossible" in it, but it would be a shame to do so, because "The Thieves" is unique in its own right.

The story was not predictable and just as you thought you had figured out what was next, the movie took an unforeseen turn and totally throws off the audience. This is the part that I really like about the storyline, it was kept fresh and constantly on the toes.

Director Dong-Hoon Choi have managed to put together a great movie that is entertaining, exciting and thrilling. And what really helps the movie along nicely are the people on the cast list. Wow! They really have some of the great talents from both the Korean and Hong Kong cinema alike. Gianna Jun, Simon Yam and Jung-Jae Lee really go all the way here and carry the movie so nicely.

"The Thieves" is a definite 'must' watch movie of you enjoy Asian cinema, regardless of your preference to Korean or Hong Kong cinema.

This movie is a clear 8 out of 10 stars without a doubt.

The Asian cinema that has most impressed me is usually of the horror genre, but this one actually stood out as a regular action flick. You will see a distinct similarity to the Ocean's serial, but it competently makes its own mark with multiple subplots that work as well as an almost dizzying amount of twist and turns. The humor translates better than almost any other Asian film I've seen, which is probable because my copy was subtitles only, there was no English dubbing available. Even with the extended run-time, the pace is quick and crisp, with no plodding moments or stalls. It keeps moving all the way to the credits, a great popcorn movie.

It looks not bad, but too long. From the director of 'Woochi' and 'Assassination', though it came between them and I'm seeing it now since I liked them both. An international cast film, I mean some well known Korean and Hong Kong actors in this multi-starrer. The story of two thief gangs joins hands to steal a diamond necklace in a casino in Macau. It's a team work, everyone is assigned to do their part, but due to some old incidents, they lose trust on one another. Followed by betrayal, how the heist takes place and what happens to them comes in the final quarter.

The actors were good, but their roles were so usual. At least the story looked better, but too much drag in the first half. Once their work begins to take off, the narration with those stunt sequences gets interesting. Even though I felt it should have been better, the screenplay should have kept tight. With so many characters, too many twists. So feels like it all jammed, though none of them were stunning enough, particularly a theme like this needed one that. I have seen a better heist film, I bet did as well, so this film won't surprise, but okay for watching once.

6/10

Oh, how I absolutely loved this film! I initially thought it was similar to 'Ocean's Eleven' with reference also to '21' (with Kevin Spacey) but as the film progressed, it became very different, and also very interesting. The group of thieves - supposed to work together - each has their own agenda, as well. A few twists and turns later we're in for a real treat with action, appropriate humor and also a good share of suspense.