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A breezy, uneven Hong Kong caper that works best as a showcase for John Woo’s playful side: romantic triangle, art-heist antics, and wildly overcooked action set pieces. It’s not as tonally seamless as his classics, but the chemistry, style, and sheer invention make it an easy recommendation for action fans and Woo… Read more
Where to watch: Buy
Sat · 1h 49m
Director: John Woo
Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Leslie Cheung, Cherie Chung Cho-Hung
Three orphans grow up to become art thieves under the tutelage of a crime boss. Romance complicates matters when the trio are double-crossed.
John Woo
Chow Yun-Fat, Leslie Cheung, Cherie Chung Cho-Hung
A breezy, uneven Hong Kong caper that works best as a showcase for John Woo’s playful side: romantic triangle, art-heist antics, and wildly overcooked action set pieces. It’s not as tonally seamless as his classics, but the chemistry, style, and sheer invention make it an easy recommendation for action fans and Woo completists.
Once a Thief feels like John Woo taking a playful detour: part caper, part romance, part action showcase. The setup is pure pulp, but the movie’s real appeal is the chemistry between its three leads and the way Woo turns theft, pursuit, and betrayal into a series of gleefully excessive set pieces.
It’s not as disciplined as his best-known work, and the tonal shifts can be a little lurchy. The comedy is broad, the melodrama is earnest, and the action often arrives with a wink, but that looseness is also part of the charm.
What lingers is the sense of a filmmaker stretching his signature style into lighter, more European-flavored territory. If you’re in the mood for a stylish, romantic, slightly chaotic crime movie with memorable stunt work, this is a fun one.
Lou (rhymes with wow!) (4★) · 135 likes
Whoa, I never knew that John Woo had made an European movie before he headed out to the U.S. (more than half of this heist comedy takes place in France). Once a Thief might not be as tight tonally as Woo's best work, but it is still a blast from start to finish. Chow Yun-Fat, Leslie Cheung and Cherie Chung have excellent chemistry together and the action scenes are beyond ludicrous. I loved it!
Josh Lewis (3★) · 131 likes
didn't really get on the wavelength of some of the broad comedy & melodrama here, at least not as much as i usually do with woo, but it was all worth it for the setpieces. there's the amazing downhill car/bike chase, a security laser heist sequence which appears to have inspired soderbergh, the final shootout sequence which is filled with insane camara movement and detail for such goofy choreography (the fire basketball, card throwing, etc) but i was especially fond of
peskypaul (3.5★) · 119 likes
🧨75%🔙One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest🔙🔜The Dark Knight🔜 Once a Thief is a ton of fun man, it feels as though John Woo was taking a breather between the heavy lifting he was doing during The Killer and Hard Boiled to make a breezy heist flavored romantic comedy. It doesn’t take itself seriously, and why should it; it’s a goofy, stylish romp that gave Woo the exact reset he needed before diving back into the deep end with… more
matt lynch (3.5★) · 118 likes
This could certainly be more exciting. For all this plot, materially little actually happens. But you can see the seeds of the similarly (unjustly) discarded MISSON: IMPOSSIBLE 2: a romantic caper, two men in love with the same woman, all the way down to the outdoor, sun-lit, seaside village action centerpiece. It's as quintessentially Woo as you could ask for. RIP Leslie Cheung.
19oldboy91 (2★) · 107 likes
English Version below🟠🟢🔵 Wenn es ab zur Hornhautpflege geht, dann nur mit den Pflegeprodukten Sammlung, Justus, Oliver und sowieso mir, Oldboy, schließlich will auch meine Hornhaupt gepflegt werden Gleich nach meinem ersten Irrtum, hervorgerufen aus Intro / Europa (?) / Imposant / Asiate / Asiate von hinten / und der Begradigung durch keinen Jackie und das beinhaltend Jackie Chan wie Chan Jakie, sondern durch Yun-fat Chow oder eher durch Chow Yun-fat und dem Uppercut-Spoiler Once a Thief / John Woo… more
Essential for the Chow Yun-fat/John Woo partnership and the emotional brotherhood energy that underpins this film.
For Woo’s elegant gunplay, tragic romance, and the same blend of sentiment and balletic violence.
If the action choreography is what you want most, this is Woo at his most exhilarating and technically dazzling.
A darker, more feverish companion piece that shows Woo’s emotional intensity at full blast.
Shares the romantic, playful, and fantastical energy of Hong Kong genre filmmaking at its most inventive.
For Cherie Chung and a similarly buoyant mix of comedy, action, and period spectacle.
A classic Hong Kong action-comedy with big stunts, comic timing, and crowd-pleasing momentum.
For viewers who enjoy inventive action set pieces that escalate with physical bravado and humor.
A globe-trotting adventure caper with a light tone and stunt-driven spectacle.
A stylish crime film that helps place Woo’s era in the broader Hong Kong action landscape.
A foundational Hong Kong caper series that captures the breezy, mischievous spirit of this film.
If you like genre chaos, star chemistry, and playful tonal free-for-alls, this is a good fit.
heist, romantic triangle, found family, betrayal, crime boss mentorship, art theft, brotherhood, stylized action
Hong Kong action, heist comedy, crime romance, stylized violence, 1990s cinema, caper film, bromance, melodramatic, fast-paced, art crime