11/25/2023 0 Comments John woo once a thief![]() I can’t explain this, and it’s embarrassing to admit, but somehow I had never seen ONCE A THIEF (1991) until now. Tags: Barbie Hsu, Chin Shih-chieh, John Woo, Jung Woo-sung, Kelly Lin, Leon Dai, Li Zonghan, Michelle Yeoh, Stephen Tung Wai, Su Chao-pin, tofu, Wang Xueqi, wuxia Posted in Action, Martial Arts, Reviews | 4 Comments » ![]() The story concerns various killers fighting over the mummified corpse of “the powerful monk Bodhi” because, according to the narrator of the prologue, “They say that whoever possesses the Bodhi remains will rule the martial arts world.” Through some not-great illustrations and freeze frame/bullet time character introductions we learn that members of “The Dark Stone, a secret guild of the world’s deadliest assassins” killed Minister Zhang Haiduan and stole the remains, but “amidst the chaos an assassin, Shi Yu (apparently called “Drizzle” in some translations), discovers Grandmaster Bodhi’s remains and disappears into the night…” All the other assassins try to kill her to get a reward. It is a pretty enjoyable wuxia movie though, and it stars Michelle Yeoh, so I’m glad I finally got my shit together. And I definitely wouldn’t confuse it for his movies. He says he gave advice, but never imposed his style. Well, sort of – it’s actually directed by Su Chao-pin (SILK ), but Woo was with him the whole time to mentor him, so he got a co-director credit. The finale with Leanne between Mack and Victor? The inconclusive ending as regards the romance?ġ2.I’m an idiot so it took me more than a decade to get around to watching REIGN OF ASSASSINS (2010), even though it’s directed by John Woo. The build-up to the confrontation? Mack and his taking risks, the Rembrandt? The confrontation with Michael, the fight, the chase, the wharf? The confrontation with Victor? The truth?ġ1. Graves, betrayal, murder? The power of the Chinese?ġ0. Mack, Leanne and Victor making a team? Techniques, Mack and his brashness in the hotel, Victor's exasperation and insinuating himself, seeming to be on the take? Leanne and her police work? The domination of the director?ĩ. Michael and his arrival in Vancouver? Again measuring up to his father's expectations? The visit to Mr Graves, the proposition, Graves' refusal? The threat of antagonism? Murders? The police wanting to find out the truth?Ĩ. The transition to Vancouver? Mack in jail, the visit of the director, her proposition, his acceptance, training to work with the police? The chance seeing of Leanne? His eluding his guard, going to the apartment, the fight with Victor? Discovery of the truth? The red and white roses?ħ. The romantic elements: Mack and Leanne? Michael and his jealousy, the arranged marriage with Leanne? Mack's reaction, stealing the money? The confrontation, fight and shootouts, the exploding of the factory? The father and Michael bent on revenge? The seeming deaths? Yet Leanne disappearing and Mack being imprisoned?Ħ. The Hong Kong story: the opening with the gala event, Mack and his disrupting it, the stealing of the computer disk? The techniques for the heist? Michael and his father? Dominating, Michael wanting to meet up to his father's expectations? His father and his liking for Mack and Leanne as his daughter? The promise of the Rembrandt picture to Mack? The setting up of the factory, the gun-running and Mack to supervise?ĥ. The title and its reference to Mack and Leanne?Ĥ. The Hong Kong locations? Vancouver locations? Special effects, fights, car chases? Musical score?ģ. Entertainment value of the film? Pilot for a television series? The appeal of the Hong Kong background, the triads, police thriller?Ģ. It is also very much a conventional police thriller.ġ. The film is formulaic material, a presentation of the power of the triads, their influence in North America. Ivan Sergei had a quite different role in Don Roos's The Opposite of Sex. ![]() Sandrine Holt appeared in Bruce Beresford's Black Robe. He then moved to direct Mission Impossible 2. He then made this telemovie but went on to cinema success with Broken Arrow and Face/Off. ![]() He transferred to the United States in the early '90s, making Hard Target with Jean Claude van Damme. John Woo had had a celebrated career in the Hong Kong film industry, not only with martial arts films, but especially with police thrillers, for example The Killer. It has a Hong Kong background but moves to North America, especially Vancouver. ![]() John Woo's Once a Thief is a pilot telemovie for a successful television series.
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