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John Woo's "Once a Thief" is a pretty entertaining movie which is original and clever like most other Woo films. It's mostly a suspense thief picture with lots of comedy mixed in with a romantic love-triangle and a little bit of Chow Yun-Fat/John Woo gunplay action of course. There is never any blood -let in this rather light film. I think John Woo wanted to tone down the violence and put more suspense/comedy in his well-known balance scale. It's pretty obvious when the usually trigger-happy Chow Yun Fat spares the life of a threatening gangster and kicks him out of a window instead. That might be along the "Die Hard" Hollywood terms, but for loyal Chow and Woo fans, it's very surprising. The storyline is one of Woo's most simple and innocent, but it set the film up for a couple of robberies which will grip you until the end. Leslie Cheung is dead serious and good as always, Chow Yun Fat is in his "Better Tomorrow II" mood: his lighter, more comedic mode which is somewhat more likeable. This mode is usually used for Woo's lighter, less serious films which don't need much acting. Chow's "Killer" serious mood is what made him famous for, but he doesn't suit that mood as well as this movie's character does.

This film is in a different vein to John Woo's other films, the body count is lower than in any other of his heroic bloodshed movies. He uses martial arts more than in any other, and the infinitely charismatic Chow Yun Fat, played his role more like Benny Hill than clint Eastwood(Although Mr Chow, versatile as he is can play comedy just as well as his silent assassin, or the take no prisoners cop.) The departure from the standard Woo, high bodycount, 2 hour long shoot out type of film come from the fact that he had just made his two darkest films "The Killer" and "Bullet in the head". "At that time the world thought I was a very pessimistic guy" said Woo "but I just wanted to show to the world that I was actually an optimisic guy. I always think there's hope and beauty in the world" hence this light hearted film, in the style of an old heist movie. The plot centers around three highly skilled are thieves played by Chow Yun Fat, Cherie Chung and Leslie Cheung, involved in a love triangle. Although not as developed as "a better tomorrow", as beautifully cinematic as "The Killer" or as "brutally high octane as "a better tomorrow 2" and the fantastic "Hard boiled". This piece delivers, and is still miles better than anything that could come out of Hollywood. (with the possible exception of John Woo's american projects) If you know you would like this film go and buy it. I did, and although I paid a ridiculouly high price for it, I knew that Woo and Chow would not dissapoint, so it was money well spent.

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.

The film is super fun to watch, on account of the charming facade of those three Hong Kong screen icons. Joe (Chow), Jim (Cheung) and Cherie (Chung) are three orphans raised and trained by a sinister crime boss Chow (Tsang) as professional thieves, meanwhile they also befriend with another father figure, the kind-hearted cop Chu (Chu). Joe and Cherie become an item when they grow up, and Jim holds back his affection to Cherie. In France, they successfully steal a Modigliani's painting, but their next mission goes amiss, resulting in a heavily-armed skirmish and Joe is presumably dead. Jim and Cherie return to Hong Kong in despondence, and their romance blossoms, then a wheelchair-bound Joe shows up unexpectedly and reticently gives them his blessing. The trio reconcile like old-times, only now Joe is the third wheel in their good rapport. More urgently, they have to settle the old scores with Chow, and Woo leaves a very wayward twist to temper the picture's trigger-happy excess, as if he tellingly tips off audience that don't take the story seriously, it is a jolly ride, just enjoy the experience.

The emotion tangle of the triangular relationship could have been developed into a more complex and heart-tugging structure since they are all able players, although a cordially comic gaiety seeps thoroughly into the narrative thanks to Chow's chameleon-like swagger (including his wheelchair dance routine) and Cheung's wet-behind-the-ears ardor, which leaves Chung most of the time like a pretty foil. Also the good dad/bad father trope doesn't really register under such black-or-white and cartoonish impetuosity.

The action set pieces are flashy at their best, churning-out at their worst. They may look dashing at first glance, but soon plummet into passable effects borne out of a shambolic manufacture, a sign of the times of HK film production. One particularly WTF scene materializes when Jim sawing a wooden plank under the bottom of a barreling lorry, which is transporting precious artworks of Musée du Louvre, on which planet, the lorry would have a wooden bottom? Which instantly snatches audience out of the credentials of the trio's teamwork. Moreover Violet Lam's synthetic score doesn't help, it is sheer obtrusively objectionable to one's ears.

ONCE A THIEF is a jaunty divergence from John Woo's more polished, bullet-ridden and heroic fraternity bravura, but shackled by the incoherent attribute between a heads-in-the-clouds lark and a dead-serious survival strategy at gunpoint, the entire experience is a mixed-bag of thrill, embarrassment and frivolousness, often in a cyclical fashion, before one's investment runs dry.

Once a thief how it was originally conceived by John Woo. And although it was nice that they let him remake(remade) his own work (but sadly for a TV audience as an appetizer for a TV show), this still is the real deal!

Chow Yun Fat is captivating as ever, but you also have the great Leslie Cheung, who sadly took his own life a few years ago. But roles like this one make him unforgettable. Overall the movie is a little bit lighter than your average John Woo film, although that doesn't mean you won't recognize it as one! Normally this shouldn't be the first John Woo film you watch, but even if so, it doesn't matter, because you will enjoy it either way! :o) (at least that's what a Woo fan like me is saying/thinking!)

So, John Woo, one of, if not the greatest Hong Kong action director, directed a comedy. An action comedy, this is still Woo after all, but still a comedy. The story going that there are these three orphans, who have two foster fathers. One of them a criminal overlord, one a police officer. Initially they lean more towards the former, being master art thieves, but the influence of the latter cannot be denied.

This is a peculiar movie to review. I mean, John Woo is John Woo. When you see one of his movies you expect iron tight action scenes, grim urban settings and tough antiheroes. And while this movie does have all of those, it doesn't feature them in a prominent role. It almost feels like a silly parody of a John Woo film, except that the man himself directed it. And yet at the same time it kinda works. Kinda sorta. I mean, it's silly beyond belief, but the action scenes, when they happen, are of the usual Woo goodness - though admittedly he doesn't bring in his A-game here.

The actors are also charismatic and talented - with Chow Yun-fat once again stealing the show. The silliness of the story means that there are no great character moments, but then again I'd say that there is enough substance here to please those that require three-dimensional characters in order to enjoy a movie.

Once a Thief is a barrel of laughs. Is it John Woo's best work? Not even close. Nevertheless, it's an enjoyable way to spend an hour or two and it certainly doesn't pale in comparison with Western action comedies.