Once A Thief sees John Woo trying something a little different—at least for the much of the movie's running time, after which the director once again breaks out the big guns, the slo-mo and the explosive violence for a typically stylish action blowout.
The film starts as a comedic crime caper set in the sunny South of France, with a trio of charismatic Chinese cat burglars—Red Bean Pudding (Chow Yun Fat), Red Bean (Cherie Chung) and James (Leslie Cheung)—barely breaking a sweat whilst pulling off a few tricky art heists, with a few flashbacks to their childhoods as happy-go-lucky orphans raised by a Fagin-style father figure.
The action stays in this lightweight gear for quite some time, but a mid-movie shootout and car chase marks a gradual move into slightly darker territory: it's at this point that it becomes apparent that Woo's antagonists aren't all that dissimilar to those in his other movies, having no qualms about taking lives to get the job done. It also sees Red Bean Pudding involved in a nasty car crash that leaves him hospitalised and presumed dead by his friends.
The film then reverts back to playful mode for a while, with Red Bean Pudding revealing to his pals that he is still alive, displaying his skill at dancing the tango in a wheelchair, and teaching his wicked 'dad' a lesson in the auction room. Thankfully, the best is saved for last, Woo bringing on the ballistics for a frantic final act, Red Bean Pudding and James pulling off one final robbery that results in numerous explosions, lots of corpses (including several innocent security guards!), and which features a silly bad guy who dispenses with conventional weaponry, preferring to sling playing cards at his enemy.
All in all, Once a Thief isn't essential Woo or Chow Yun Fat, but the film still has enough going for it to make it a reasonably entertaining way to waste 100 minutes or so.
The film starts as a comedic crime caper set in the sunny South of France, with a trio of charismatic Chinese cat burglars—Red Bean Pudding (Chow Yun Fat), Red Bean (Cherie Chung) and James (Leslie Cheung)—barely breaking a sweat whilst pulling off a few tricky art heists, with a few flashbacks to their childhoods as happy-go-lucky orphans raised by a Fagin-style father figure.
The action stays in this lightweight gear for quite some time, but a mid-movie shootout and car chase marks a gradual move into slightly darker territory: it's at this point that it becomes apparent that Woo's antagonists aren't all that dissimilar to those in his other movies, having no qualms about taking lives to get the job done. It also sees Red Bean Pudding involved in a nasty car crash that leaves him hospitalised and presumed dead by his friends.
The film then reverts back to playful mode for a while, with Red Bean Pudding revealing to his pals that he is still alive, displaying his skill at dancing the tango in a wheelchair, and teaching his wicked 'dad' a lesson in the auction room. Thankfully, the best is saved for last, Woo bringing on the ballistics for a frantic final act, Red Bean Pudding and James pulling off one final robbery that results in numerous explosions, lots of corpses (including several innocent security guards!), and which features a silly bad guy who dispenses with conventional weaponry, preferring to sling playing cards at his enemy.
All in all, Once a Thief isn't essential Woo or Chow Yun Fat, but the film still has enough going for it to make it a reasonably entertaining way to waste 100 minutes or so.