The Thief Lord

When I was about 9 or 10, I read the book. I loved it, and it deepened my love for the city of Venice. The movie is about two boys, Pop and Bo, who get separated when their mother dies: 6 year old Bo has to live with his terrible aunt and uncle, 15 year old Pop ends up in an orphanage. The decide to run away to Venice, a city their mother had always loved. Without money or home, they meet the 16 year old Lord of the Thiefs and get to live with him and his gang of orphans, and get a dangerous mission to steal a wooden wing...

The actors were well chosen and played even due to their young age very well, the pictures of Venice are beautiful and the music was thoroughly fitting. Only 9 stars, because notable changes were made from the book, though it wasn't too tragic.

I loved the book, so naturally I wanted an accurate adaptation. The movie was a wonderful translation from book to film although of course there were a few minor details that I was disappointed about. It was also very, very good for a low budget movie. The characters were just as lovable, if not more, on screen as they were in the book. The acting was good for the most part although at times it could get a little dull, and at times a tad overdone, but still it was completely believable. Some parts were quite touching and others were hilariously funny. There was just the right balance of humor and seriousness to make it grounded and interesting at the same time. It was creatively done and very entertaining. And I would still recommend it to you if you haven't read the book.

Cornelia Funke's novel has been turned into a very good "family" film. How I hate to use that term but unfortunately its true. This is the story of a couple of orphans who high tail it to Venice in search of the magic that their mother always spoke about. Their they fall in with the "Thief Lord" and his band of orphans who steal in order to survive.

This is a really good movie. I really do like it a great deal. The film is well acted by all concerned. It has great effects and is extremely well made in pretty much every area. And that is what was wrong with the film, it looks too good. Everything is picture perfect and neat. I don't think I've ever seen a film where Venice ever looked this neat and clean. It takes the film out of being very real to being a a bit of lets put on a show. Its a grand and very enjoyable show, but its a show who's technical excellence keeps you at arms distance. Maybe its just a bit of disappointment on my part, I wanted to fall into this film and enjoy it from on the inside, instead I was forced to see it through a looking glass of picture perfect perfection.

Still see this movie. If you have kids sit them down and show them this movie, it will keep everyone entertained. Its a film that people should be seeing and talking about since its too good to have get lost and disappear.

7.5 out of 10.

I was expecting it to be either really good, or really bad, but it wasn't actually either. It was just...good. I really liked it, but it's not going to be one of my favorites or anything. The actors were WONDERFUL, but the movie seemed kind of rushed. Many of the best parts in the book were barely seen in the movie, and the whole thing would have been very confusing if I hadn't read the book. They didn't describe many of the facts well, but because I had read it, I knew what was going on. It was pretty faithful to the book (compared to things like Harry Potter and LotR) and was overall very enjoyable. The main thing it was missing was Cornelia Funke's wonderful writing style, but...well...it's a movie. It's probably as good as it could have been. :) Overall, 7.5 stars. I recommend this movie to everyone of all ages, even if you don't like fantasy stories like Harry Potter, but only as long as you read the best-selling book first.

I've always been a fan of the book, and I was thrilled to find out that a movie was being released. Last night as I had the movie in my hand and was putting it in my DVD player I thought "You know, this had better live up to my expectations or I'm going to be terribly disappointed."

I was not disappointed.

I'll have to say, my only tiny complaint is that Bo was a little /too/ cute, if you know what I mean. He was also not that great of an actor, but hey, he was a little kid.

Scipio. He was fantastic. Rollo Weeks, a relatively unknown actor, did a awesome job. I don't think anyone else could have done the part quite as well. I wasn't even bothered by the fact that his hair was shorter than in the book, I thought it fit perfectly. He was definitely my favorite character. I liked him much better than in the book. Rollo Weeks gave the character much more personality and I had more sympathy for him.

The other characters were also very well cast. Riccio was perfect, as was Mosca and Prosper.

The sets were beautiful, and the filming was done surprisingly well for a low-budget film.

I give it 10 stars. *********