Golden Princess owns the rights to most of the John Woo classic Hong Kong movie titles, and one of these is his light-hearted action movie Once a Thief, starring Chow Yun-fat and Leslie Cheung.
The film concerns a trio of international art thieves who grew up as orphaned Artful Dodgers on the streets of Hong Kong. Fresh from a successful heist in the sunny French Riviera, they set their sights on one last job: break into a heavily guarded fortress and steal a painting so valuable that it is said to be cursed.
But when they’re double-crossed by their former criminal mentor, villainous triad leader Mr Chow (Kenneth Tsang), the gang must use their wits, skills and unbreakable friendship to take him down.
This is not your typical John Woo shoot-em-up; it is much more fun than most of his other movies, a bit disjointed at times, but has enough great scenes and plot twists to keep you entertained.
The scenes shot in Paris give the film a fresh look, and the car chases are extremely well done and exciting. The lead actors are a treat to watch. Chow-Yun Fat is brilliantly charming and funny (if at times over the top in the comic scenes). The late Leslie Cheung is cool as ever and supports Chow-Yun Fat perfectly. The lead actress Cheri Chung is elegant and very easy on the eye.
Those of us who love the gunfights in a John Woo movie are not forgotten either, with several great set pieces and a rousing finale.
While not classic John Woo, it does give fans something different with an interesting crime caper that, while uneven, is still great to watch.
The film has been remastered in 4K and released on Blu-ray and 4K UHD in many countries, including the USA, UK and Australia. The picture quality is excellent, and depending on which version you buy, extras are plentiful.
A great Hong Kong action/comedy which is definitely worth a revisit, especially in its remastered HD format.
