Based on the 1996 film of the same name, Once a Thief follows the exploits of two ex-thieves from Hong Kong, Mac Ramsey (Ivan Sergei) and Li Ann Tsei (Sandrine Holt), along with a former Canadian police officer, Victor Mansfield (Nicholas Lea), who all work for a shadowy Canadian anti-terrorist unit under the watchful eye of the sultry Director (Jennifer Dale).
Before his critical success in America with films such as Face/Off and Mission Impossible II, John Woo directed a helmed a Canadian TV film remake of his 1991 Chow Yun Fat movie, Once A Thief. This then got spun-off into a TV series, and despite his name being attached, Woo only stayed on as an executive producer for this television show; which sees the films key cast all return. The series itself takes a while to settle in. In the opening few episodes it feels as if the directors that were hired were told to ape Woos Hong Kong classics such as Hard Boiled and The Killer, so expect a lot of badly choreographed, slow motion gun-fights set to classical music throughout.
The series itself takes a while to get rolling but once it does we are introduced to some utterly over the top villains; George Takei, of legendary Star Trek fame, makes a guest appearance early on in the series as a gung-ho Tokyo cop who, having studied at the University of Texas, adopts a six shooter and a John Wayne shoot first ask questions later attitude. Throughout the series we also see The Sid and Nancy of the crime world, who are a pair of punks attempting to buy a virus to take out Vancouver, A Frankenstein-esque arms dealer who works with a Doctor in order to harvest organs to keep himself alive and, my personal favourite, an agoraphobic who essentially acts like Big Brother if it were a serial killer.
It is clear to see that the script team on this show were really inventive in trying to keep the series fresh and exciting with a John Woo edge. But, unfortunately this is the downside to the show as well, as the ridiculous characters and storylines are just that, ridiculous, and most of the actors and actresses playing them come off as rather amateur in their performances, causing you to question whether or not you should be taking these master terrorist and criminal masterminds seriously at all. Throughout the series, the new villains of each episode are far too complex and extrovert for just one episode, and far too much time is spent with them on screen letting off long monologues or just generally acting badly. The leads the series protagonists, Mac, Vic and Li Ann, to fall to the way side and only really pop up in the last half of each episode to save the day and crack a few jokes.
Overall Verdict: Over the top storylines and throw away villains make this one just for the diehard Woo fans out there.
Special Features:
N/A
Reviewer: Gareth Haworth