MesmeroWatch list, 0 saved

Movie
Poster for Once a Thief

Once a Thief

1996 · 96 min

A breezy, stylish action-romance with a light comic touch, easy to watch and full of slick set pieces and romantic tension.

Directed by
John Woo
Genres
Action, Crime
Overview
Set in Hong Kong and Vancouver, the story follows Mac Ramsey and Li Ann Tsei, lovers and professional thieves who are separated while fleeing the powerful Hong Kong underworld crime lord who raised and trained them. After being imprisoned in Hong Kong, Mac is forcefully recruited into a clandestine international crime-fighting unit by a hard-nosed, menacing Director. He is teamed in Vancouver with Li Ann, who thought Mac was dead, and her new fiancé Victor Mansfield, an ex-cop who is attracted to the unorthodox methods of the agency. Conflict flares between Mac and Victor as the trio take on their assignment. They soon learn that their principal target is their foster brother Michael Tang, who had been given Li Ann as his future wife and who has vowed to hunt down the pair for their disloyalty to the "family".
How it feels
Light, tense, romantic and campy. Brisk and easy to follow.
About
Crime, betrayal, loyalty, love
Content
Mild violence, sexual content and language. No gore.
Note
Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

Your rating is saved. See your suggestions, or find titles like this one below.

Rate it, and Mesmero finds titles that feel like it. You do not need an account.

Search YouTube for a trailer (opens in a new tab)

Add to a list: Once a Thief

You have no lists yet. Name one, and this title goes into it.

All your lists

Stream in the US
  • fuboTV
  • Howdy Amazon Channel
More options Data from JustWatch
Directed by
John Woo
Genres
Action, Crime
In your watch list

More like this

Like Once a Thief, but
That did not load.Show titles like this

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Full breakdown
Tone
  • lightstrength 2 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • romanticstrength 1 of 3
  • campystrength 1 of 3
Pacing
brisk, 3 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
easy-watch, 2 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Era
contemporary
Audience
teen
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action6
Horror1
Humour5
Realism5
Romance4
Tension5
Darkness4
Complexity4
Emotional weight4

Cast

Where to watch in the US

Change country

Stream
  • fuboTV
  • Howdy Amazon Channel
Free
  • Fawesome

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details