The Thieves Movie Review (and Running Man Ep 102)

I pre-ordered the highly anticipated Korean blockbuster, The Thieves, from Amazon (it was directly from Amazon, so it was very trustworthy and arrived the day of the release date, February 12th) over a month ago and it has finally arrived!  I first had my eyes on this movie when the trailer just came out last year, and was so bummed that there would be no way for me to actually watch the movie.  But The Thieves has been brought to the US in select theaters in October 2012 (when I say select, I mean obscure theaters too far to drive to from the city), and finally has been released on DVD.

Out of the entire cast, why must Kim Soo Hyun be cut?  (referring to top right)

The DVD box itself is very minimal, only containing the DVD.

After being completely awestruck by Kim Soo Hyun's brilliant performance as the lead in The Moon that Embraces the Sun, I couldn't wait for his next move.  Soo Hyun has been evolving exponentially as an actor, as seen from his role in Dream High to his role in Moon Embracing Sun.  I started researching Soo Hyun's role in The Thieves and though he isn't one of the main thieves in this film, he did have some screenshots captured from the trailer that were very noteworthy.  Here's the trailer, with English subtitles:


Throughout watching this movie, I could not stop getting emotionally involved with the characters, because they were all so moving!  The movie opens with a thrilling scene that already puts you in an action mood.  In order to steal a precious diamond, a group of Korean thieves teams up with a group of Chinese thieves (mainland and Hong Kong), combining multiple cultures.  I love how there is communication in Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese and a little English, yet it still works really well.  There a flashbacks that offer background stories for some characters, which create depth and give each thief their own personal motive for stealing the diamond.  The one downfall about this movie is after the actual heist, it dragged on for quite some time and started to lose the thrill and momentum that the movie had otherwise.  I did like how the storyline was continuously unpredictable and had many unexpected twists.  Because the movie did escalate so brilliantly, I am very satisfied with the exciting ending.  Overall, I was very entertained by this movie and will definitely watch it again soon!

As I've said before, I purchased The Thieves purely because of Kim Soo Hyun, and he definitely did not disappoint!  I was quickly shocked when Soo Hyun began speaking in Mandarin, showing off his many skills.  His character is much more mature than his country bumpkin Dream High role of Song Sam Dong, and is equally high caliber to his role in Moon Embracing Sun.  Soo Hyun has showed so much growth as a mature, adult actor, and this movie has showcased his skills.  Overall, if you're a fan of Kim Soo Hyun or like heist movies, I definitely recommend you to check out The Thieves!

On a related note, Kim Soo Hyun guest starred on the variety show Running Man's 102nd episode that aired on July 8, 2012, with that episode's theme based on The Thieves and referencing Moon Embracing Sun. This episode's mission is a bit different from other Running Man missions, because Kim Soo Hyun is on a secret mission to oust the Running Man team, who has set out to steal golden turtles, which is mimicking The Thieves plot. Even the opening scene appears like a robbery movie, with Boss Soo Hyun answering an important call And receiving his secretive mission and "weapon." If you're a fan of Kim Soo Hyun, want to see his personality outside of dramas and movies, are a fan of The Thieves or other robbery movies, or just like interesting Running Man missions, check out this episode!