Sadly Over-hyped

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Taking a break from his heavier Heroic Bloodshed titles of lead characters dying (The Killer, Bullet in the Head, A Better Tomorrow Trilogy) , John Woo returns back to genre which he branded his own with a more playful subject:Two brothers and their sister (raised under a strict art thief father) clear the debt they owe their father by engaging in high-risk heists. A High Valued French painting is believed to be cursed , whomever attempts to steal the painting dies. This Super-Valued Painting , along with a hidden triangle of love between the three con-artist , are the main themes of the movieAnd of course , it features some high class gun-fu featuring Leslie Cheng doing Tom Cruise stunt flips before Tom Cruise was even a thing

This is about three international thieves, who've known each other since childhood. Their father was a very unpleasant man who beat them, but they since found a good-hearted cop(well, he found them... with loot) who took them in. You'll know right from when you first hear the silly theme tune that this isn't as serious as other of Woo's films. He brings his trademark style and action(slow-motion shoot-outs and chases, some of them vehicular) to this, albeit there's less of the latter(it can be pretty exciting, though), and neither look as great as they do in other of his movies. It honestly comes off kind of cheaply produced, the way it's filmed(meanwhile, editing is sharp). With that said, it does go for plenty of gags(a few of them quite creative and memorable), and it isn't phoned in. This has a couple of cool heists. The humor is very goofy, campy and playful, and I personally found next to none of it funny. Maybe it's on account of cultural differences, but at times I really didn't understand the characters' actions, and this also seemed to take massive leaps in the tone. I didn't see much consequence to most of what happened in this. The version I watched was evidently dubbed, if only a little of it was to English. Chow Yun Fat is awesome, if this did have me cringing at the majority of what was said and done(when not involving guns, at least). There is a bit of disturbing content and mild to moderate violence in this. The DVD comes with several trailers for similar films. I recommend this to fans of Chinese comedy and to an extent, of the director. 7/10

Once a thief how it was originally conceived by John Woo. And although it was nice that they let him remake(remade) his own work (but sadly for a TV audience as an appetizer for a TV show), this still is the real deal! Chow Yun Fat is captivating as ever, but you also have the great Leslie Cheung, who sadly took his own life a few years ago. But roles like this one make him unforgettable. Overall the movie is a little bit lighter than your average John Woo film, although that doesn't mean you won't recognize it as one! Normally this shouldn't be the first John Woo film you watch, but even if so, it doesn't matter, because you will enjoy it either way! :o) (at least that's what a Woo fan like me is saying/thinking!)

It is quite impressive after I found out movie was made 11 years ago. Many scenes have been copied in many other movies and even an American remake. Most Hollywood action actors cannot act in slow scene, but not Chow. As in many Hong Kong movies, you cannot just classify them as pure action or pure comedy or pure love story. The other support can act too. American audience will lose most of the jokes in Cantonese. However, you will enjoy the movie from the beginning to the end even you have to read the sub title that is not quite correct in many cases.