07.00 It Takes A Thief
It Takes A Thief. Episode 1. "Magnificent Thief" I'll begin by saying that the opening minutes are among the best I have ever seen in a pilot.
It opens with an action sequence which clearly establishes the good guys, the bad guys and what's at stake. We see a man (soon revealed to be a good guy) trying to steal a briefcase from some men (soon revealed to be the bad guys) and dying for his efforts. Scene two brings us inside the offices of the good guys where Noah Bain mourns the death of another agent and say they will need a thief to get this job done. Luckily, he knows the best: Alexander Mundy. When asked why - if Mundy is so good - he wound up in prison, Bain explains that the best thief was beaten by the best cop.
Nice way to have our hero in prison without taking away any of his power. He can still be the greatest thief ever (in our eyes) because the writers have just told us why he's in prison. It also helps that we meet him in the middle of a successful jailbreak attempt. A funny one, too. Mundy abandons his escape plan when he learns that he's just been released anyway.
Next: Bain introduces Mundy to his new dwelling. A mansion complete with fast cars, beautiful women and high-tech equipment. Barely ten minutes into it and the show has delivered a strong story and completely set up the premise that will drive the series. Not only that, but thanks to the casting of Robert Wagner, we have an instantly likable hero.
What follows is good fantasy drama. Mundy (with beautiful Senta Berger in tow) sets out to get the briefcase for the good guys. He lies, steals and cons his way close to the case, gets it and - when the story takes a twist at the mid-point- goes 'rogue agent' to 'plug the leak' and put things right with the world. The movie has several action high points, Berger and Wagner make a fantastic team (her character is just as interesting and heroic) and John Saxon is at his best as the ultimate villain of the piece. The show is littered with nifty cameos, too, and Wagner is often very funny when he's doing his thing.
The pacing suffers a lot towards the end when the show does a lot of location shooting at something called Expo 68. Nothing much happens for ages as we watch the characters walk here and there (with Expo 68 in the background of every shot). All very boring. Luckily it picks up and Mundy is soon climbing things, stealing things and being shot at again.
I really loved this pilot movie!
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Fri, Oct 10, 08 - It Takes A Thief
