Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Best movie of this year hands down!

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

This is an excellent movie. Alec Baldwin puts in one of his best efforts, but he's upstaged by Michael Jai White who just runs away with it in the colorful role of Pointy Williams. Pointy is one of the most refreshing film characters I've stumbled across in quite a while. He's a gangster who is trying to improve himself socially and take on upper class and intellectual airs. He's surrounded of course by rough and tumble urban ghetto thugs and the realities of running a brutal criminal enterprise, so Pointy is constantly frustrated at this by every turn. The film is not a comedy, it's crime drama, but a infectiously quirky one with lots of laughs, especially when Pointy comes around. The film, and especially Pointy, are extremely quotable. This is a great film in every way. I'm surprised it does not have a bigger following.

It's good to know from reading the user comments here that others are out there who've seen this film (probably on DVD) and enjoyed it as much as me. I don't recall when or where I bought this movie, or what motivated me to do so, but I'm awfully glad I did. Normally, a film's director is the major force in attracting me to buy a film on DVD. Since I had never heard of Scott Sanders, it surely must have been the presence of so many good actors which influenced me to do so. However, if this man never makes another film, he still has made a significant contribution with this one. The actors execute Sander's tight, fast-paced script superbly, as the film flies by so quickly, I was disappointed it was over. Alec Baldwin as the Mafia-connected thief, Bruce Greenwood as his sarcastic sidekick, a black guy whose name I didn't know, who plays Greenwood's foil and sidekick #2, together form a formidable trio of robbers with great chemistry, and much, much sly humor. Pit them against pseudo-sophisticated gang leader Michael Jai White, carelessly arrogant of his bigotry against the "Eyetalians," his #2, a quietly smooth Andre Braugher, and their entourage of bungling underlings, then throw in the middle, laid-back detective Rebecca De Mornay and you have a great crew to execute all the controlled anarchy which ensues. Great acting all around from these fine people. But, it doesn't stop there. There are three or four more guys and gals, again whose names I didn't know, who make vital acting contributions in sizable roles. This is not a "funny, ha ha" type film, but its serious nature is always undermined by subtle comedic touches. If there is a serious weakness in the film, I didn't see it. Director Sanders wrote a great story, recruited a team of top-notch talent, mixed it all together and came out with one great film. I've put myself on notice to see if Scott Sanders shows his face again, but so far ... This film was made in 1998. He has plenty of time, but, c'mon now.

"Thick as Thieves" follows a crafty professional thief (Baldwin) as he does a job, gets ripped off, and seeks retribution. The result involves cops, black and Italian mobs, and the thief all trying to resolve the situation in accordance with their respective agendas. A slightly above average watch, this journeyman gangster flick is all Hollywood light drama, mildly entertaining, more amusing than serious, and good fodder for channel surfers.

Alec Baldwin always performs well. While not a very original story line, is put together well, even while it bounces back and forth from Chicago to Detroit. Reminded of Mel Gibson in "Payback". A very different role for Rebecca DeMornay, who plays a middle aged police detective, with NO glamour.The script takes time to develop characters and their motivation. We see the story develop from all points of view. The character "Pointy" (Michael Jai White), is wonderful as the ghetto kid trying to become a "respected" man of the world.