Once a Thief

1996

Seasons & Episodes

  • 1

6.9| 0h30m| en
Synopsis

Once a Thief is a 1997 Canadian television show inspired by the 1996 film of the same name.

Director

Producted By

Fox Broadcasting Company

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

Stream on any device, 30-day free trial Watch Now

Trailers & Clips

Reviews

NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!
Ogosmith Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.
Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.
TheBlueHairedLawyer The premise of Once A Thief is simple enough to grasp: the misadventures of a trio of criminals working for justice, under the guise of an enigmatic director (known only as the Director), fighting mobsters, crooks and killers. This trio includes Li-Ann, Mac and Victor. Mac and Li-Ann have ties to a Hong Kong triad but wish to get out of the game. Vic was a cop who was set up by his corrupt colleagues. They are hired by a shadowy government agency in British Columbia, where they work alongside British hit-men for-hire Murphy and Camier, and Jackie, a gung-ho teenage mob boss.Some people find this show too silly to take seriously, but it does have its many impressive moments, and to be fair, it was intended to be a comedy, anyway. And when it comes to characters, they all make you want to be a part of the adventures yourself. At first I wasn't a big fan of Jackie with her giggly cheerleader routine, but she's the type of character who grows on you as she begins to make further appearances in the series. The mysterious Director, unfazed in even the most dire situations (until her weird X-Files spoof episode) provides the main characters both a friend and a foe at times. Hands-down my favourite characters of the reoccurring cast though were Mr. Murphy and Mr. Camier, the agency's professional "cleaners", who, to use Camier's words, "clean the world of evil". At first they are merely contract killers who serve as their current episode's creepy villains, but as the series continues they turn out to not be so soulless after all, and they even team up with the agency on occasion. Camier also concedes to being in-love with Li-Ann, an idea that might have been explored further had the series continued past its twenty-three episodes. I could definitely imagine Murphy and Camier having their own spin-off show together. Of course, Once A Thief's vast collection of minor characters, from a cult of uranium-smuggling Goths to an Irish terrorist, give each episode a lot of material to work with and ideas to explore.What I find sad is that Once A Thief had so much more potential, and yet it ended after only 23 episodes for whatever reason. Although it's way too late for its fans to ever hope for a revival of it (it was produced the year I was born for crying out loud), at least all 23 episodes were recently released in a DVD format. I've been binge-watching them all lately and they're hilarious, really a lot of fun.
kosmasp But only by the fact that it is rated so high here. OK, so actually only a few people voted (to this point not even 50), but still that alone doesn't explain why it has that high a rating ...A TV movie was made that John Woo directed (see under movie connections), after that he only produced the TV Show or just lend his name for it (I have to admit that I don't know which, but it doesn't make a difference) ... Which explains the downfall! Although the TV directors who took over tried to contain or even embrace the style that John Woo is known for, it always looked phony ... The stories weren't that good, the direction was just a poor rip-off and the acting was bad too ... To make things worse, this is a series that had to meet certain standards (let's call it kid-friendly), which just doesn't mix up with the action it tried to deliver ...
TooCynicalToSpeak On contrary to the previous comment, I think that this series is brilliant. It's fast, interesting and appealing. The writing is funny and cleverly bizarre... it is just simply clever. The action sequences are directed perfectly. But you don't have to be an action lover to be captured by John Woo's "Once A Thief", because it has so many more elements that make this show one of the best in television, and one I definitely recommend to TV lovers out there.
thebishop74 I was surprised by this program, it turned up late night here and I found myself staying up late to watch it, and I'm glad I did.The acting is ok, and in general it is a very slick show, with plenty happening to keep you interested, and of course with John Woo producing it you know the action is always going to be great.