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The Prophets have been running movie Web sites for a dozen years now. During this period, we have engaged in countless debates about movies, oftentimes championing some of the least heralded releases while ridiculing some of the most successful titles in terms of box office. With Are You With Us?, we ask one of BOP's newest writers to watch a film we have either celebrated or mocked in the past to find out whether they agree with us or not.

The Good Thief is a remake of Bob le flambeur, a French film you've most likely never heard of unless maybe you've studied film.

When it comes to filmed heists, they're rather predictable. The general outline will often involve a specialist recruited to do one last job, sometimes with a group or on their own. The aim is to try and take something valuable from someplace heavily guarded. The film will try to make it look as impossible as ever and to spice it up, the heist won't go exactly as planned, sometimes sign-posting problem spots early on. However, they will miraculously pull it off and become rich enough to buy a toaster. The end. The Good Thief tends to stick to this template most of the way, with characters who are getting high in techno clubs and walking neon lit streets, which are then contrasted with quiet coffee houses and elegant casinos.

Because watching it feels like skipping to the final few chapters of a book, it is to writer/director Neil Jordan's credit that he manages to condense a lot within the opening 15 minutes. So much so that I thought I'd missed something important.

Bob (Nick Nolte) is presented as a low life hooked on drugs. We learn that he is a thief, a con, and a gambler who likes his art. He's been convicted six times before and gets on reluctantly well with Roger (Tchéky Karyo), the policeman who is constantly tailing him. His good nature is displayed when he helps the young Anne (Nutse Kukhianidze) by getting her out of prostitution and even letting her stay at his place. She soon strikes a friendship with Bob's young companion Paulo (Saïd Taghmaoui). Meanwhile, old friend Raoul (Gerard Darmon) tells Bob of the opportunity to rob the newly refurbished Casino Riviera in Monte Carlo. However, the aim isn't to go after the money, but the expensive artwork from a completely different vault close by. Bob is in, but feels he needs to get off the drugs completely in order to stay focused. He also plans for two heists to try and throw the police off as to what he's really up to. But which one is which? Is he after the money or the art?

If this all sounds a little Ocean's Twelve, then don't worry. This has a touch more class, wit and relies more on character development rather than star power. In fact, the heist soon pales into insignificance as the film leans more towards how the characters deal with the problems they've landed themselves in. More than anything, this is Nick Nolte's show.

"You look good for a man of your age," Anne tells Bob, and she's right. Hair dye helps in this area, but still, Nolte is fully immersed as Bob. Ragged and world-weary, he not only looks it but clearly acts it. His showing at a narcotics anonymous meeting is absolutely classic, as well as the question he asks Anne right after she's had her life threatened. Though there are minor hints of a former life on the straight and narrow (he is praised for being a mathematician), he makes a living gambling and thieving. For a character in this unlawful line of work, even Bob has morals, and becomes furious when one of his gang members ends up facing a murder charge. Most of the time, Bob is rather laid back and a little too relaxed. Even when he's taking a beating there's rarely the feeling that he's in any great danger, and this is a problem. It feels like a long wait before there's any excitement, and even then, there's very little of it.

With such a diverse cast and heavy accents, it meant actually having to switch the subtitles on. Even with Nolte, I could barely make out what he was saying some of the time. Of the many characters there is lot of focus on Nutse Kukhianidze as Anne and Saïd Taghmaoui as Paulo. Watching what's supposed to be a relationship should set alarm bells ringing as to the eventual outcome. However, because Taghmaoui has that bad guy look about him (hence certain roles in Vantage Point, and Traitor) it was refreshing to see him in this early role acting alongside Nolte. It's also worth noting Ralph Fiennes, who has a brilliant, un-credited cameo as an art dealer.

There are a few themes running through the film. The mixture of old and new is illustrated with a young cast contrasted with old cronies, as well as being told that the Casino Riviera has been newly refurbished. And of course, there's the illusion of what is real and what is fake, from the art, to the heist, and even Bob's stories.

It's just a shame that The Good Thief is automatically ticking boxes and not till the third act does it positively deviate from the rules. However, it is worth a watch, if only to see Nick Nolte playing a great character who deserves to be in a much better film.

Verdict: Not With Us