The Thief Lord
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Movie Reviews of The Thief Lord
Movie Review: Wonderful Movie
Summary: 3 Stars
"The Thief Lord" movie was very close to it's book counterpart by Cornelia Funke. The actors protrayed their characters beautifully and I enjoyed this movie throughly.Movie Review: Strictly a film for the little kids.
Summary: 2 Stars
I was kind of disappointed. Even though distributor Fox decided not to release the movie theatrically in the US, I still kind of hoped that the movie would be great. But it's just not. When I was watching the movie, I couldn't help but notice that they basically crammed as many big events from the book in as possible, but left out the main point of the book, which was these orphan kids living together in a movie theater, and how they've all become like a family. The movie just kind of misses this point completely, instead choosing to go from one big event to another and barely giving these characters any time to sit down and simply chat with eachother, letalone actually develop.
The movie alters the timeline a bit; Prosper and Bo had been living with the Thief Lord and the other homeless kids for a while when the book started. In the movie, they basically just moved in, so they just meet the thief lord and the other kids at the start of the movie. So over the course of the movie, there is really no great friendship between them. It seems like they're more like acquaintances than people who become life-long friends with these street kids.
Without the developed friendship between these characters, there's just no...importance to anything. Nothing seems to be at stake. When the big plot twist is revealed, it's a big "so what?" to those who haven't read the book; you didn't get to know these characters or the Thief Lord enough to really care.
Without all the character development, this movie just flies...QUICKLY. The big plot twist that happens about half way through the book, (You know it if you read the book,) happens only 30 minutes into the movie. Just to give you an idea of how quickly this goes by.
Other flaws in the movie are flaws carried over from the book which are made somewhat worse. One complaint that I had about the book was that these characters were just too law-abiding for street kids. But the movie takes this even further; in a movie about street kids, NOTHING, not a single thing, is stolen in this movie. And yes, for those who read the book, in the movie, they don't keep the fake money. Also, what happens to Barbarino seemed kind of farfetched in the book, but in the movie, all realism is COMPLETELY lost regarding this plot point. Similarly, the book's first half was excellent, while the 2nd half was kind of a step down...the movie, unfortunately, basically rushes through the first half to get to the 2nd half, which means there's about 20 minutes at the start of this movie that are really great...then it just kind of loses steam.
Overall, I was really disappointed with this. What we have here is a movie that speeds through the book's big events but forgets the main themes of the book and leaves these characters kind of in the dark. Hornet is reduced almost to a cameo, Mosca's character bares almost no resemblance to the character in the book, Riccio's thievery is never mentioned, Scipio isn't nearly as arrogant and stubborn as he should be....yet Prosper and Bo's relationship, (the 2 brothers who are the main characters) actually ends up working well. The acting was good all around, and of course Venice makes for some cool scenery. The movie also does a good job (a great job, actually) of picking up the pacing near the end. (The movie ends shortly after the Isola Segreta scenes, yet almost everything is included.) Victor and Ida were perfectly cast, as was Barbarosa, (although his beard isn't red in the movie...) But, of course, the movie ends on a happy note whereas the book's ending was, I thought, supposed to be kind of bittersweet.
What we have here is a movie for the younger kids, basically. It takes the chase scenes and the good scenery from the book and kind of throws it together, but (possibly in an effort to keep up the pacing to appeal to a younger audience,) the character development is completely lost. Younger kids will love it; it's simple enough to understand and probably fast enough so they won't get bored. But older viewers who haven't read the book may be put off by how shallow it ends up being, and those who have read the book may be disappointed by how simplified the story was and how character-less these characters are.
Movie Review: Why Watch a Movie About a Rich Kid Thief?
Summary: 2 Stars
Why this movie is an award winner I don't know, and can't imagine. Its production quality is first rate, but the values in it are horrible from a traditional values point of view. The Thief Lord is a son of a wealthy family that steals. In a way, he is a fifteen year old Robin Hood. It isn't made clear what he does with the money, except that he seems to support a bunch or orphans and runaway kids. There is a bit of fantasy in the story as a magical merry-go-around turns kids into adults and adults into kids. If parents show this movie to their kids, there is much to discuss. I sometimes say that nobody is completely useless; they can always be used as a bad example. I'd say the same about this movie - it isn't completely useless, parents can point out all these kids are doing wrong or immorally. However, there are so many great movies with good traditional values that it seems pointless to waste time on one such as this. There are even a few swear words in the movie.Movie Review: An insipid interpretation of a great book...
Summary: 2 Stars
I admit to holding high expectations of this film based on the wonderful writings by author Cornelia Funke. Unfortunatly, this is simply a case where the book transcends the movie. I found that Funke's literary sense is barely recognizable in this film. The screenplay, or directing, lacks focus and ambles its way through Funke's delightful story. I credit the actors for their decent performances, and the setting in modern-day Venice is especially beautiful. Still, the entire film appeares flat compared to Funke's rich and visual text. My hope is that Inkheart, Funke's next book-turned-movie, captures the magic and mastery of her prose. If so, it's a must-see for anyone who really wants to see a book come to life.Movie Review: Attractive Actors/Poor Plot Line
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought this DVD based on the good reviews written here. And I have to admit the actors looked good and the movie had a nice look. But I and my family were disappointed by the shallow, disjointed storytelling involved. A good movie should also be true in how it presents a story so that consequences follow on actions. But here, everything works out fine in spite of characters doing them the wrong way. If nothing else, Scipio should have aged 20-30 years at least for riding the Merry-Go-Round rather than just a few years and all his problems being solved. My advice is to buy Disney's "Something Wicked This Way Comes" or "Oliver". Either is a much better movie for children and families.