While Michael Mann's first theatrical film, Thief, has style to spare and is as high-tech as they come for heist thrillers, it is severely lacking in character depth and sympathy.

I enjoyed this movie, but not for the reasons that I thought I would.  I have seen and loved Michael Mann's "The Insider", "Manhunter", and especially his crime opus "Heat".  These were highly-stylish, technically-intriguing, but also heavily character driven stories.  The characters in "Thief" seemed very static, and very cold.  The ones we are meant to sympathize with are not developed enough, and the rest are so desolate they seem almost sociopathic.

Caan's performance is great to watch, as is usually the case.  He handles the tough guy stuff great, and the limited amount of positive emotions he's given to convey are well displayed, but hard to justify, and the script often has him flipping switches at an unintentionally amsuing rate.

The score by Tangerine Dream works well (although it severely dates the film, and the closing scene's sound like a bad attempt at "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd with the chords rearranged--the same thing that happens during the score for "Manhunter" oddly enough), and it is kind of fun to see future Mann alumni William Peterson and Dennis Farina in bit roles as a bartender and a bodyguard respectively.

Not bad for his first time out at bat, but he really didn't find his stride until "Manhunter".
While Michael Mann's first theatrical film, Thief, has style to spare and is as high-tech as they come for heist thrillers, it is severely lacking in character depth and sympathy. I enjoyed this movie, but not for the reasons that I thought I would. I have seen and loved Michael Mann's "The Insider", "Manhunter", and especially his crime opus "Heat". These were highly-stylish, technically-intriguing, but also heavily character driven stories. The characters in "Thief" seemed very static, and very cold. The ones we are meant to sympathize with are not developed enough, and the rest are so desolate they seem almost sociopathic. Caan's performance is great to watch, as is usually the case. He handles the tough guy stuff great, and the limited amount of positive emotions he's given to convey are well displayed, but hard to justify, and the script often has him flipping switches at an unintentionally amsuing rate. The score by Tangerine Dream works well (although it severely dates the film, and the closing scene's sound like a bad attempt at "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd with the chords rearranged--the same thing that happens during the score for "Manhunter" oddly enough), and it is kind of fun to see future Mann alumni William Peterson and Dennis Farina in bit roles as a bartender and a bodyguard respectively. Not bad for his first time out at bat, but he really didn't find his stride until "Manhunter".