Once a Thief

Dir: John Woo
Star: Chow Yun-Fat, Leslie Cheung, Cherie Cheung, Kong Chu

[14] Woo's major problem is handling emotion. No-one is ever mildly ANYTHING in a John Woo film, the characters suffer mood swings that should have them on drugs as schizos. The first half of this film especially is full of badly handled sentimental fluff which feels like so much padding, unnecessary in a film lasting 108 minutes. At times, it's more like a travelogue for the French Riviera, where the heroes, three art thieves, are operating. They pull a "last heist", only for one of them to get crippled, Of course, it's not their last heist either. It's predictable stuff for the most part, and pretty short of the high-octane action that Woo is best at.

E+

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