Once a Thief (1996 film)

Once a Thief is a remake of a 1991 film of the same name. Both films were directed by John Woo. The movie was also made into a 1997 television series also of the same name. The remake aired on the Fox Network and was hoped to be the beginning of a weekly series, but Fox passed on it, and the series aired instead on the CTV Television Network in Canada.

The film is about two orphans - Mac Ramsey (Ivan Sergei) and Li Ann Tsei (Sandrine Holt) who have spent their life living with the Tang family - a ruthless Chinese organised crime syndicate. Mac and Li Ann were taken in by the Tang Godfather (Robert Ito) and have formed a close friendship with his son Michael (Michael Wong).

When they grow up, Li Ann is betrothed to Michael, but falls in love with Mac so the two scheme to steal money from the Tang family and run off to start a new life. During the heist, Mac is arrested and Li Ann flees to Canada. 18 months later, Mac is released into the charge of a menacing woman known only as the Director (Jennifer Dale) who takes him to Canada to work for her crime-fighting team. He soon realises he will be working with Li Ann and her former cop boyfriend Victor (Nicholas Lea).

The spin-off series ran for one season.