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"I'll call the firetruck" Better call a fleet of them!
Chow Yun Fat and Leslie Cheung teamed up again for Once a Thief. It was a farcical heist film with a high body count because as everyone knows it’s all fun and games until people start literally going up in flames.
James, Cherie, and Red Bean Paste/Joe were once orphans taken in and trained by Mr. Chow who runs a crime syndicate. The three grown thieves are now in Paris and targeting a painting in a museum. When things go wrong on a second mission, the trio is split up.
The story was simple and nonsensical. Two guys liked the same girl. They grew up together and knew no other life than thieving. Cherie wanted them to quit but the money was too good, until a robbery mission went wrong. They have an angel on one shoulder who has tried to help them go straight and looked the other way since they were children and the devil on the other shoulder pushing them to steal who might also bring about their deaths. The robberies were decidedly unrealistic. Leslie Cheung and Cherie Chung mostly played their roles dramatically. Chow Yun Fat went overboard with a broad comedy rendition for his role. Cherie was stuck with the worried girlfriend role while the boys had all the fun.
Phillip Kwok (Lizard Venom!) was the action choreographer and he went all out. Leslie’s character used acrobatic tricks while Yun Fat’s brought the kung fu. Nothing was off limits-Gambit style throwing cards, plastic explosives, grenades, a wide array of guns, wheel chair fu and dancing, electrical traps, and massive car chases and pileups! If you are a John Woo fan and expect bullet ballet, you won’t be disappointed. There was a new scenic background for the fights and thefts as the first part of the film was shot in Paris before it moved to Hong Kong.
Once a Thief’s story wasn’t the strongest but Writer/Director John Woo took that shaky scaffolding and with Phillip Kwok’s wild action choreography made an entertaining film. Leslie Cheung and Chow Yun Fat’s chemistry was solid as always which papered over the bumpy plot holes. Close enough to 1990 that I gave it a small ratings bump.
4 November 2026
Trigger warning: CYF smacked gum throughout the film. I desperately wanted to play a mom role and tell him to spit it out.
James, Cherie, and Red Bean Paste/Joe were once orphans taken in and trained by Mr. Chow who runs a crime syndicate. The three grown thieves are now in Paris and targeting a painting in a museum. When things go wrong on a second mission, the trio is split up.
The story was simple and nonsensical. Two guys liked the same girl. They grew up together and knew no other life than thieving. Cherie wanted them to quit but the money was too good, until a robbery mission went wrong. They have an angel on one shoulder who has tried to help them go straight and looked the other way since they were children and the devil on the other shoulder pushing them to steal who might also bring about their deaths. The robberies were decidedly unrealistic. Leslie Cheung and Cherie Chung mostly played their roles dramatically. Chow Yun Fat went overboard with a broad comedy rendition for his role. Cherie was stuck with the worried girlfriend role while the boys had all the fun.
Phillip Kwok (Lizard Venom!) was the action choreographer and he went all out. Leslie’s character used acrobatic tricks while Yun Fat’s brought the kung fu. Nothing was off limits-Gambit style throwing cards, plastic explosives, grenades, a wide array of guns, wheel chair fu and dancing, electrical traps, and massive car chases and pileups! If you are a John Woo fan and expect bullet ballet, you won’t be disappointed. There was a new scenic background for the fights and thefts as the first part of the film was shot in Paris before it moved to Hong Kong.
Once a Thief’s story wasn’t the strongest but Writer/Director John Woo took that shaky scaffolding and with Phillip Kwok’s wild action choreography made an entertaining film. Leslie Cheung and Chow Yun Fat’s chemistry was solid as always which papered over the bumpy plot holes. Close enough to 1990 that I gave it a small ratings bump.
4 November 2026
Trigger warning: CYF smacked gum throughout the film. I desperately wanted to play a mom role and tell him to spit it out.
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