Once a Thief
Once a Thief
PG | 29 September 1996 (USA)
Once a Thief Trailers

Set in Hong Kong and Vancouver, the story follows Mac Ramsey and Li Ann Tsei, lovers and professional thieves who are separated while fleeing the powerful Hong Kong underworld crime lord who raised and trained them. After being imprisoned in Hong Kong, Mac is forcefully recruited into a clandestine international crime-fighting unit by a hard-nosed, menacing Director. He is teamed in Vancouver with Li Ann, who thought Mac was dead, and her new fiancé Victor Mansfield, an ex-cop who is attracted to the unorthodox methods of the agency. Conflict flares between Mac and Victor as the trio take on their assignment. They soon learn that their principal target is their foster brother Michael Tang, who had been given Li Ann as his future wife and who has vowed to hunt down the pair for their disloyalty to the "family".

Reviews
kale854

Yeah, it sucks, but it's one of those movies that gives you that warm and happy feeling, that you can only get when two supposedly heterosexual men are DEFINITELY into each other. Seriously, if you didn't see them, watch it again. The homo erotic undertones are there. Esp. with The Bite as my sister has taken to calling it. Of course Lee Ann had to be there to mess with everything.I realize very few people know anything about this movie, as it was pretty obscure, so I shall sum up. There are three 'siblings' named Mac, Lee Ann, and Micheal. Micheal is the biological son of a Chinese mob boss, and Lee Ann and Mac were adopted into 'The Family' Mac and Micheal are both in love with Lee Ann, but Micheal gets permission from his father to marry her. Micheal is a slimy little jerk, and honestly, the guy who plays him can't act... at all, I don't know his name, because all I really worry about are Mac and Vic (Ivan Sergei, and Nicholas Lea *heart*). So anyway, Mac and Lee Ann try to run away, Lee Ann escapes and Mac ends up in prison. That = exposition. I hope I've peeked your interest at least a little. Great movie. Rent it.

... View More
behemoth-7

Very bad acting combined with an utterly unbelievable chain of events lacking any kind of coherency and spiced with one of the worst dialogue I've ever encountered. This was actually pretty bad even for a purely television production.At times the "movie" felt like a group of stuntmen rehearsing for a neat action flick. At times the dialogue and cinematographic choices made me feel like I was watching a bad soap.The effects were overblown and yet looked cheapish. Shooting scenes had a faint of the usual John Woo in them, but there was no coherent force that would have made the scenes fit with each other or lend them a shred of believability.Stealing the Rembrandt painting and creating a duplicate of it (in such a short time!) was the absolute worst this movie put in front of my eyes. It just kept on going and going ... and going ... with those dudes hanging in the chandelier.While I've watched and liked a number of Woo movies, this is (so far) the absolute worst of his I've encountered.

... View More
imelda-2

This is the best double episode of Once a Thief. Nick Lea is the best of the cast and his performance is very good. The talent of Ivan Sergei and Sandrine Holt is undeniable and the story is very interesting.I think that all fans of John Woo must see this episode.

... View More
grey-15

alright.... i'd have to say this isn't the worst in the john woo catalog.... i found myself laughing and getting that rush you only get in one of his movies.... i thought the characters were enjoyable and after reading the john heard book, 'ten thousand bullets: the cinematic journey of john woo', i had new respect for the man....no, the legend.... i would only recommend this movie, however, if you're a true woo-phile.... it has all the earmarks of a good woo flick, just like balckjack and even hard boiled.... you just need to understand the man loves to make movies.... he doesn't care if they're TV movies or theatrical releases or straight to video....he just loves his art.... i have one problem with this flick and one large focus of praise.... now, not seeing the original....(john woo says it's not something he was ever happy with....) i'm not sure if my thoughts are whole, but here goes.... the bad thing....not enough of the double gun action.... the good thing....was a scene where the two good guys, the one bad guy and the girl are all in a mexican standoff and the girl, (who all three guys are in love with....) steps in the middle and they all carefully lay their guns down just long enough to get her to safety and then all heck breaks loose.... that was a cinematic masterpiece....! over all i'd give it a good rating....not to shabby for TV....

... View More