Thick as Thieves (2009/I)

Director:

Mimi Leder

Writer (WGA):

Ted Humphrey (written by)

Release Date:

9 January 2009 (Taiwan)

Genre:

Crime

Tagline:

Never trust a thief.

Plot:

A veteran thief recruits a younger crook to help him pull off one final job in order to repay his debt to the Russian mob.

Plot Keywords:

Thief | Side Boob | Bra Less | Subway | F Word

Cast

Morgan Freeman	...	Keith Ripley
Antonio Banderas	...	Gabriel Martin
Radha Mitchell	...	Alexandra Korolenko
Robert Forster	...	Lt. Weber
Rade Serbedzija	...	Nicky / Victor
Michael Hayden	...	Sudimack
Marcel Iures	...	Zykov
Gary Werntz	...	Donley
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Velizar Binev	...	Tarasov
Antony Byrne	...	Yaniushkin
Katie Chonacas	...	June
Constantine Gregory	...	Sergeev
Tom Hardy	...	Michaels
Todd Jensen	...	Commissioner Morelli
Corey Johnson	...	Voutiritsas
Siso Kamburov	...	Ivanov
Vladimir Kolev	...	Andrei
Ariel Llinas	...	Sergeant
Diana Lyubenova	...	Ludmilla
Deobia Oparei	...	Commissioner Rawls
Velislav Pavlov	...	Ilia
Joshua Rubin	...	Joost
Marianne Stanicheva	...	Madame Irina
Chucky Venice	...	Transit Cop
Gerrit Vooren	...	Bakker

Also Known As:

The Code (International: English title) (USA) (working title) (USA) (DVD title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality, language and some nudity.

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Ireland:15 | UK:15 | Taiwan:R-12 | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:M18 | Mexico:B15 | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

Brighton 4th Street, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Nu Image Films

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Subway scenes (supposedly in the New York City subway) were filmed in the Sofia metro, with Soviet-made 81-714.2 subway cars.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Gabriel Martin: I want to know, was it all lies?
Alexandra Korolenko: Not the part that matters.
Gabriel Martin: It was true.
Alexandra Korolenko: [giggles]
Gabriel Martin: That was real. That was real, finally.

Movie Connections:

References Topkapi (1964)

Soundtrack:

Hum Diggy

A mix of the decent and not-so-decent

While I can understand why talented actor Robert Forster (who looks somewhat ghastly here, like he's coming off a major illness) is appearing in a direct-to-video movie (at least in North America), I don't understand why Morgan Freeman and Antonio Banderas are doing in a direct-to-video movie. Surely they are still getting calls from major studios? Did they really need the money? Anyway, they bring their natural charisma to this movie... but not much more. Freeman doesn't seem to be trying very hard in his performance, and Banderas doesn't watch his accent, making some of the words he says hard to figure out.

The production values are mostly very decent, a trademark of direct-to-video kings Millennium/Nu Image Films. Although this set-in-New-York film was partially filmed in Bulgaria, it doesn't show. The only flaw in the production values was the CGI used in the subway sequences. It looks pretty cheesy.

The heist central to this movie has some tension, but I found it hard to get involved. For one thing, many of the steps the Freeman and Banderas characters use to foil the various security measures are never fully explained to the audience. Even worse is that it's implied that this heist was planned in JUST A FEW DAYS! Seeming all these security measures they have to conquer, it would really take weeks, even months to plan! The movie is never really boring, but in the first half of the movie you can kind of guess what will happen in the next scene. There are twists towards the end, but they are expected, as in other caper movies like this one. Such twists happening are no longer a surprise. Plus, as they start to unfold, you will start to guess just what new twists will happen.

Wait until it comes on cable... on a rainy day... when there's absolutely nothing else to do or watch.