For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

This sweet children's film may seem predictable especially with Bo's plot device cough, but just wait. There are unexpected twists around the corner, it will take you by surprise.The acting varied a lot throughout the film, I personally thought that the hero: The Thief Lord, was really wooden until you discovered a little bit more of his mysterious life then all of a sudden he got a lot better. Then he grew a few inches, and despite the brilliant acting at that point his hair really needed cutting. Bo however was really sweet and got the best lines and I grew to like his brother more throughout the film as it showed just how sensible and brotherly he could be. Even the "baddie" detective turned out to be a nice guy despite his bad bumbling mistakes in the first half of the film. The only real baddies were The Thief Lord's parents, you never see his mum but his dad is nasty piece of work.As for the plot, it didn't stop but wasn't always a surprise. I was just waiting for them to discover that the money from the deal was counterfeit. I was quite surprised when it turned out none of the kids were really proper thieves though but it was a nice twist. Despite the stupid mask do not expect Zorro-ness from this film you are robbed of virtually any evil and nearly everyone receives a happy ending. I was a bit disappointed when we didn't get to see Skippio tell off his dad for being such a meanie (are you allowed to call people names on IMDb?) to him but his telling off of the Aunt and Uncle make up for it. This film is funny, cute and definitely for young children: a feel good movie all round, enjoy!

First of all I'd like to praise Aaron Johnson he's by far the best actor of the bunch. His role is very difficult to act out specially for a kid his age (15) back then.I didn't like the movie itself very much because it comes across as jerky, sloppy and very unbalanced for instance: Bo and Prop have had a terrible time on the streets before they were rescued by Scipio but for some reason the Director/Screenwriter Richard Claus left that out. Scipio, is supposed to be a very careful character he wouldn't take in Bo and Prop for trying to steel some cough medicine. And then there's Scipio's mask. Scipio, hides his face for every adult according to the book but in the movie the mask goes on and off on the strangest moments, this really spoils the mystical character of Scipio also Scipio's normal life as a rich boy being mentally tormented by his father doesn't come across because the screenplay just skims over this very important fact. Now the "street kids" seem to be only mad at him because he's a rich boy. But they are actually angry about the fact that Scipio used them to make himself feel good by being looked up at and respected because he isn't being respected at home. And all this is so meagerly portrayed.Generally there's no fluency in between the scenes and plots and subplots this makes it look very messy the first time when you see it. When you actually watch the movie a second and third time and get over this disastrous screenplay and brilliant acting of the youngsters it does become an intriguing movie.I.M.H.O Richard Claus shouldn't have been the screen writer and I don't like his way of cinematic photography either (too little close ups and hardly any movement by the characters when they act). Another Screen writer and a better director would've made this now "B" movie into a blockbuster. All in all the story has all the ingredients and the actors are phenomenal.

Cornelia Funke's novel has been turned into a very good "family" film. How I hate to use that term but unfortunately its true. This is the story of a couple of orphans who high tail it to Venice in search of the magic that their mother always spoke about. Their they fall in with the "Thief Lord" and his band of orphans who steal in order to survive.This is a really good movie. I really do like it a great deal. The film is well acted by all concerned. It has great effects and is extremely well made in pretty much every area. And that is what was wrong with the film, it looks too good. Everything is picture perfect and neat. I don't think I've ever seen a film where Venice ever looked this neat and clean. It takes the film out of being very real to being a a bit of lets put on a show. Its a grand and very enjoyable show, but its a show who's technical excellence keeps you at arms distance. Maybe its just a bit of disappointment on my part, I wanted to fall into this film and enjoy it from on the inside, instead I was forced to see it through a looking glass of picture perfect perfection.Still see this movie. If you have kids sit them down and show them this movie, it will keep everyone entertained. Its a film that people should be seeing and talking about since its too good to have get lost and disappear.7.5 out of 10.

I loved it! It's like, reality with the magic and fantasy of a merry-go-round PLUS all the magic of Venice! Rollo Weeks is a great (and hot) Scipio/ Thief Lord and Aaron Johnson is a perfect Prosper. Alice Something {oops forgotten the surname} did a great job as Hornet and so did the guy who played Victor. I liked the movie a lot 'cos I can really feel the magic and the excitement during the whole movie! The whole feeling was great because I could feel that, when the characters were mad, I could understand why and, strangely, I felt mad with them! This movie is such a delight, I feel like I could watch it for hours! If you need a break from Harry Potter, The Thief Lord is the right movie. In Harry Potter, the magic is obvious {they're wizards and witches!} but in The Thief Lord, the magic is very subtle and you can only really feel it during the end. But the feeling of magic and excitement is scattered throughout the whole movie!