Review | The Moon Thieves movie review: boy band Mirror’s Anson Lo, Keung To and Edan Lui star in heist thriller that’s fun to watch – even if one of them is miscast

Yuen Kim-wai’s movie about a Tokyo watch heist is a textbook crime thriller, but Anson Lo and Edan Lui’s charismatic performances help make it fun to watch

Keung To, on the other hand, is miscast as the ruthless crime boss and fails to convince; co-stars Louis Cheung and Michael Ning lighten the mood

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Louis Cheung (second left), Michael Ning (middle), Anson Lo (second right) and Edan Lui (right) play a gang of watch thieves in a still from The Moon Thieves (category: IIB, Cantonese), co-starring Keung To and directed by Yuen Kim-wai.

Published: 7:15pm, 5 Feb 2024Updated: 8:23pm, 7 Jan 2025

3.5/5 stars

Three of the most popular members of the Cantopop boy band Mirror lend their ticket-selling powers to The Moon Thieves (also styled as The Moon Thi4v3s), a by-the-numbers heist thriller which nevertheless engages with its playful storytelling, slick visuals and some casually charismatic performances.

While Mirror’s Anson Lo Hon-ting (It Remains), Edan Lui Cheuk-on (Chilli Laugh Story) and Keung To (Mama’s Affair) are the main draws here, it is the deadpan delivery of co-stars Louis Cheung Kai-chung and Michael Ning that adds a welcome touch of levity to the largely self-serious proceeding.

Following a chaotic opening scene that drops us briefly into the middle of a deadly shoot-out, the film goes back several days in time to introduce us to Vincent (Lui), a master counterfeiter who has the ability to build period-correct replicas of antique timepieces out of cheaply recycled parts.

He is coerced into joining a heist by Uncle (Keung), the unhinged son of a deceased underworld watch dealer, who is seemingly also trying to kill off his father’s long-time crew members.

The new mission involves breaking into a Tokyo watch shop, where Vincent is to authenticate a trio of valuable watches and swap them with fakes he’s made.