Thick as Thieves (2009)

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.

Director:

Mimi Leder

Writer:

Ted Humphrey

Stars:

Rade Serbedzija, Morgan Freeman, Robert Forster

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rade Serbedzija	...	Nicky / Victor (as Rade Sherbedgia)
Morgan Freeman	...	Ripley
Robert Forster	...	Lt. Weber
Corey Johnson	...	Voutiritsas
Antonio Banderas	...	Gabriel
Gerrit Vooren	...	Bakker
Charles Venn	...	Transit Cop #1 (as Chucky Venn)
Atanas Srebrev	...	Transit Cop #2
Darrell Las Quevas	...	Transit Cop #3
Tom Hardy	...	Michaels
Ivan Petrushinov	...	Émigré #1
Victor Boichev	...	Émigré #2 (as Victor Boytchev)
Nickolay Hadjiminev	...	Émigré #3
Marianne Stanicheva	...	Madame Irina (as Mariana Stanisheva)
Stefan Shterev	...	Giorgi

Storyline

In New York, the experienced art thief, Keith Ripley, invites the bold thief from Miami, Gabriel Martin, to team up with him. He plans the heist of two valuable mysterious antique Faberge eggs, located in a safe, of the well protected Russian jewelry Romanov. Each egg is worth twenty million dollars on the black market, and Ripley needs his cut to free himself from his debt to a powerful mobster, known as Nicky. The reluctant Gabriel agrees to participate, after having a one night stand with Ripley's goddaughter Alexandra Karolin. Meanwhile, the persistent Lieutenant Weber, who has unsuccessfully tried to put Ripley in jail for twenty years, figures out how to anticipate the movements of the criminal in order to catch him.

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Plot Keywords:

thief | faberge egg | heist | title directed by female | whispering | 

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Taglines:

Never trust a thief.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality, language and some nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English Russian Dutch

Release Date:

9 January 2009 (Taiwan)

Also Known As:

The Code

Filming Locations:

Sofia, Bulgaria

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Millennium Films, Revelations Entertainment, Equity Pictures Medienfonds GmbH & Co. KG IV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the first of three movies to star Robert Forester and Morgan Freeman. They would alter star in Olympus Has Fallen (2013) and London Has Fallen (2016).

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Goofs

When at the party they use the iPhone to see the transmitted video feed from the camera in the buttonhole. In the close up you can clearly see the home button on the left but in the very next scene the phone has turned around.

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Quotes

Lt. Weber: Where the hell's my man?
Keith Ripley: Lieutenant... your personal life, none of my business.

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Connections

References Topkapi (1964)

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Soundtracks

Russian Melody
Written by N. Reichard, S. Deutsch
Performed by Network Red
Published by United Music GmbH (GEMA), NR-Music Publishing (SUISA)
Courtesy of Toptrax GmbH

User Reviews

As Thick As They Come

Let me start by saying that, what saved this movie from being a total disaster is not being a very long movie. Hence, the rating of three stars was given instead of one. I invested the first 30 minutes, without much happening. I was hoping on a "thick" plot but boy was I wrong. This movie tries to be another "Bank Job" but fails at surprising or making the viewer think about anything but Antonio's horrid performance.

Average acting on behalf of the crew. Morgan just wanted his money, you could tell that any moment now he was going to run off the stage. The only guy who was remotely good is Papa Patrelli from Heroes the TV series. Playing a frustrated, outsmarted investigator/cop. Now Antonio delivered a performance that made you feel like he reached into your pocket and stole your money. Not once during the entire movie have I forgot that I'm seeing Antonio miserably fail at attempting to take himself seriously.

The movie tried to seem wise or smooth or even funny, but delivered none of the above. The movie passes by without any real point or drive and ending equally pointless.