The Good Thief (2003)

It is what it is

Nick Nolte's mumbling and asthmatic whispering will challenge your tv's sound system. Still, this heist flick is a cut above some others. Interesting unknown cast, though the plot about a casino art theft is something you'll think you've seen before. The scenes between Nolte and the teen Russian prostitute are very good. It's worth watching because it's higher quality that it could have been. October 8, 2008

Far from Ocean

Another heisty film on a heist in a casino on the French Riviera of course, in Monte Carlo to be more precise. That sounds like the Ocean gang, or Ocean's band , but it is not. Though the idea is the same, the cops are all ready to get the upper hand, but it all goes to the dogs because one sexually ambiguous gangster is afraid of some spiders and this leads the cops to leaving the Casino per se. So the safe is emptied and the boss who has been playing all the time wins big, real big, but his gang loses and it is the small youngish others who win. The world is no longer what it used to be. Apart from that the film lacks the humor Ocean has and the very hostile world that really plays it as a game and not as a war. But apart from that it is an acceptable entertainment though it will not change the face of the world nor the color of the moon.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine & University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne
July 24, 2007

One of Nolte's Best

This flick is really one of his best. Most of the other actors are virtually unknown in the U.S., which is too bad because they really do a great job. Ralph Finnes has a tiny, but intense part in this that helps make it a really tense and sexy heist movie. It's kind of in the same vein as Ronin. It's also a lot of fun. March 11, 2007

Special effects, music, well done, entertaining story, charismatic acting

THE GOOD THIEF, starring Nick Nolte and filmed on location in Monte
Carlo, released in 2002, is a movie that is perhaps of special
interest to criminologists, as it covers a number of aspects that
are widely reported in the media, as scourges of society. It also
associates the weaknesses of the film's protagonists to the profit,
glamor, class and prestige of a casino, thus making viewers reflect
on how there's always someone, somewhere, raking it in from another
human's failings - not exactly a brother's keeper, is it?

Here, there's tales of heroin abuse in the character played
tastefully by Nutsa Kukhianidze, whose youth and innocence in this
picture are a true complement to Nolte's older "tortured mind and
soul" presence; in this manner, there's a chemistry between the pair
that is charismatic. Also, the movie has a small part for a role of
a transgendered weight lifter, perhaps to throw a curve ball to the
audience. There's also prominence given to gambling addiction, as
one would expect, from the plot, involving a casino for which Monte
Carlo is well known. There's the traffic of high value paintings, in
this case, Picasso and otherwise, and a mastermind plan from Nolte's
character to take possession of millions.

The filming spot adds value to the story, as the camera shows the
coutryside and also "in loco" filming in the city itself,
underlining its many glamourous and luxurious aspects, as its more
common aspects. The casino sequences, I find were done even better
than in 007's Casino Royale. The action is never slow ...time moves
rapidly over 90 mins, and the suspense is always present. Overall,
the GOOD THIEF's special effects, music, and more is well delivered,
and the story entertaining.

I wouldn't suggest this movie is intended for the patrons of Monte
Carlo, obviousl. I don't know exactly why the "Algerian" aspect is
combined into it, unless, the story writer felt first generation
newcomers from the Magreb deserved being associated with some of
what goes on in the movie, perhaps. A fun movie, and the law
enforcement is always present, throughout, to remind viewers
of the consequences.
March 1, 2007

The Good Twist

I liked this film the first time I saw it solely based on the cast and their outstanding performances. I liked it even more after seeing it a couple of times for the subtle twists throughout the movie. Nolte really delivers in this film! January 29, 2007

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