Excellent, a Must See

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

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

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.

Seemingly based on an earlier American TV show called "It Takes A Thief" that ran in the late 1960's starring Robert Wagner-this shows premise is different and plays more like a weirded out version of the British show "The Avengers." This show also uses a lot of odd camera angles and darkened shots. The plot lines vary a lot from good to just out and out wacky. I think too many mediocre scripts was a thing that worked against the show being renewed for another season. Shot in Vancouver BC-but you never really felt like it was shot in Canada somehow. Many Canadian shows these days don't show a lot of whats really in Canada-like they never ever show rickshaw drivers when filming something in Toronto-and you never hear mention of anything First Nations on most Canadian drama shows these days even though First Nations are a very visible part of the population in much of Canada. I think this show had too many shortcomings-in fact I think many Canadian TV shows are often too much of "lets play pretend" as if Canada had nothing to offer when it does have things to offer-but it also has some fairly morally ambiguous things-like rickshaw's which are basically the very definition of arduous slave labor. In an era that disapproves of slavery. Also Odd: the Canadian CBC will not not put out the once popular Canadian TV show "The Beachcombers" onto DVD. I find that completely weird-like someone today doesn't want anyone First Nations depicted as a normal part of a Canadian community- since when did Canada turn back the clock to 1865? Jennifer Dale's character on this show seems to continued on into the show Nikita that started in 1997 after this show ended.

I love this series! Based on the trio antics of the movie by John Woo, this is a Canadian produced action comedy series. Li Ann and Mac try to get out of the Hong Kong Triad, Vic is set up by his dirty cop colleagues. Li Ann and Mac are separated, Mac ends up in jail, where he's approached by a slick high status woman with a proposal; come and work for her secret agency or rot in jail. Li Ann and Vic have gone the same route as Mac does, accepting the offer, and the three are put together as a team, with the woman, The Director, as a puppet master and boss. Cue adventures and intrigue.It's a series driven by great actor chemistry, one-liners, timing, and the occasional hey-let's-do-martial-arts stuffing. My tastes exactly. A little cliché at first, perhaps, but some episodes are freakishly good. Ivan Sergei and Nick Lea work great together (how great? ask any slasher out there), Jennifer Dale is my GOD, the weird Agency that's always empty of people, camera and lighting, there's so much to love! And only one season's worth of episodes. *sobs*

Once a Thief focuses on the lives of three people, each with his/her own deep background, that unwillingly become secret agents and pawns of an almost maniacal woman - the director of a shaddowy government agency.The movie is, in short, a work of art.Both elements of seriousness and humor are portrayed seamlessly and stylishly. Each episode is an independent part of a large collection that, when complete, is a master piece.