Thief - Il professionista

Nick Atwater and his gang of professional thieves have just completed another successful robbery for agent Roselyn Moore, however a rare moment of greed saw them take money they found as well as their target. Unfortunately for them this money is the property of the Chinese mob and, although Roselyn gives the money back as soon as she learns of this – the Chinese still intend to have them all killed to send a message. Meanwhile Nick has two very immediate problems – one of the gang has started messing up due to heavy drug use and his step-daughter is in trouble with the police herself. Neither problem in itself is insurmountable but with the Chinese, a crooked cop and a personal tragedy, things suddenly get infinitely more difficult.

As a Homicide: Life on the Street fan, I was looking forward to seeing Thief when it came to the UK but managed to not notice its arrival on Sky until it was too late. Having spent ages waiting for a DVD release that never came I managed to get in touch with someone in the US who recorded it off TV for me (thank you!). This hadn't hyped it up for me but I was hoping that it would be good. The plot is solid from the start and I was engaged, thinking that this was going to be a fast paced six episodes. On the contrary though, the mini-series moved surprisingly slow and I'm not totally convinced that it had the depth to enable it to do so. I hate to always bring it into my reviews, but The Wire springs to mind – a slow pace but every hour is rammed with material and "action".

Thief cannot compete on this level but it does still work for what it is. The crime plot is good but it doesn't all fit together as well as I think was the intension; the main heist is engaging enough but the Chinese mob and crooked cop bits don't really fit. It also ends rather abruptly as well – so I'm not sure if originally the writers were hoping for more episodes to try and run everything equally and dove-tail more effectively. What does work as part of the heist plot is the family material with Nick and his stepdaughter Tammi. I am used to seeing this sort of material be an afterthought – perhaps even a cynical attempt to wider the viewer demographic but neither of these appears to have been the case with Thief. Although not perfect in itself, this material does strengthen the story and make it more engaging than a straight heist series. However none of these things would have worked as well if it had not been for the single biggest asset in the series – Braugher.

Of course I can be accused of bias since he was the reason I came to the show, but he did not disappoint. He lifts the material with a performance that is brooding at times, broken at others and, most importantly, he makes Nick convincing and real and goes beyond just being the character that each specific scene requires. I'm not describing it very well but at no point did he seem to be flicking a switch to act different things – it all seemed to just be the same person in different moments. He dominates the cast for this reason but the others do still do their bits well. Whitman is not perfect here but she benefits from working with Braugher – her character is annoying at times but her performance is good (and a nice surprise for this Arrested Development fan). Arias, Collins, Yoba and Yun Lee, Kim, Hamilton and Hall are all solid in support but Rooker is a disappointment. His character seemed incidental but was somehow pushed forward as a main one – his bits distract more than they add and his performance doesn't produce anything to improve this situation.

Thief may not have been as good as I would have liked but it is still a solid, if slow mini-series. Attempts to vary what it is about are worthy even if some parts of it feel out of place or laboured but ultimately it still engages thanks to the usual high-quality work from Andre Braugher in the lead role.

Just how good is Andre Braugher? When you give this actor a meaty role, he never disappoints. He didn't have much to do in "Hack", his previous series that starred David Morse, but in "Homicide" and now in "Thief", he has created a character that fascinates.

"Thief" is the latest entry in a string of fine dramas that FX has brought to the small screen. It took the entire first episode to flesh out the characters and subplots but by the second installment, I couldn't wait to see what would happen next.

A grand supporting cast backs Braugher and after just six eps the season is already over. FX is one of the best cock teasers in the business. As "The Shield" was getting better than ever, its season ended its 13 episode run. Same with "Rescue Me". I want MORE, dammit!

They talk about the 50's being the "golden age of television" but with excellent fare like the aforementioned programs, along with "24" on Fox, HBO's "The Sopranos", "Deadwood", and "The Wire", I believe that we're experiencing a second "golden age". Even many of the Bruckenheimer procedurals are well-written, and "er" still finds moments of its former brilliance. Fox's "House" is a bit over the top, but it is witty and solid each week.

That brings us back to "Thief". The show has the big heist as its center point but is really more a character study of the people involved in the crime and all who are affected. This show could go in so many different directions in the future and I hope that FX has plans to bring it back. An excellent piece of work and all who are involved in putting it together should be very proud of their achievement.

I have to say that after watching it last night. I became addicted to this groundbreaking show. Andre Braugher best known for his role as Frank Pemberton on the NBC show, Homicide: Life on the Streets, which I still consider one of the best cop shows ever made has breathed life into this character, Nick, who by all appearances works in the auto field but his real career is that of a professional thief. Granted, I would have like to have seen the interracial relationship between Nick and Wanda but that was cut too short. NIck's stepdaughter is kind of a typical teenager girl who just lost her mother and doesn't know what to make of her stepfather. Although her father lives in Hawaii, he never comes to his former wife's funeral is a testament to watching this interesting relationship unfold in the upcoming episodes. There are a lot of crime shows on television but this show is set apart by the fact that even the criminals have a code and they could pay with their lives. THe fact that the show is set in New Orleans is also a strong factor as to what they can come up. I just saw one night but I wanted to see more. I like Linda Hamilton's character. She's a breath of fresh air. You have to see it once just to get the feel of it and want to see it again and again. I love Andre Braugher and I think he should get an Emmy and a Golden Globe for playing this role.

Over here in England we are awaiting episode three. Have to say I am hooked big time and its great to see one of my favourite actors Andre Baugher back on the screens.

Homicide. Life on the streets was this guy. Pembelton was/is A God!! A strong actor who is vastly under rated.

Long may this show thrive,and please please don't kill the f**king thing off like they have done with another of your cracking shows after one series "Over There"

Thanks US for another top notch t.v show.

Keep the faith

Four episodes in, "Thief" is an exercise in calculated tension; this is the first weekly series to grab me since season one of "The Sopranos." It feel rough, jazzy, messed up the way real life is messed up. Society would probably be better off if every single character in "Thief" were eliminated, but let's face it - "society" is not, never has been and never will be Disneyland.

Yeah, it does looks "ugly" - because it's about seriously ugly things. If you need obvious heroes in your entertainment or think everything should be shot to look like "ER", this is clearly not going to work for you.

It's not very pleasant, but it is riveting. No way I would wait for the DVD to find out what happens.