New York Times
"[A]n effervescent comedy....[The film] hews to the conventions of the heist movie while adding a sweet, karmic kick." 08/31/2007 p.E4USA Today
3 stars out of 4 -- "[H]ighly enjoyable....It's a lively underdog tale with an involving Robin Hood-inspired scheme." 08/31/2007 p.6E Los Angeles Times
"The characters are brightly drawn....The tone is nice and brash....It's refreshing to see a bit of escapism that takes place in contemporary Southern California as seen, and lived, by those uninterested in aping the OCEAN'S THIRTEEN vibe of ice-coolness." 08/31/2007 Los Angeles Times 8 of 10
The jaunty heist picture "Ladron Que Roba a Ladron" (A Thief Who Steals From a Thief) almost makes up for the season's previous attempt at a jaunty heist picture, "Ocean's Thirteen," which you may have liked but which I found smug. Some movies leave you feeling like a mugging victim; after that one, I felt smugged...The film also has its share of eye candy. Gabriel Soto, a former Mister World contestant, plays the guy who digs the tunnel to the gold underneath the mansion. When mechanic Rafaela, played by the wonderful Ivonne Montero, wipes off the grease and slips into something dressier, the cohorts eye each other and it's stars and bells...Joe Menendez directs this genial lark. His TV credits include "Real Stories of the Highway Patrol" and "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide," and though there's nothing flashy or complex about the way Menendez works with crowds or lays out a suspense sequence, he keeps everybody in the same movie. Likewise, screenwriter Jojo Henrickson doesn't dazzle us with his narrative maneuvers. But it's refreshing to see a bit of escapism that takes place in contemporary Southern California as seen, and lived, by those uninterested in aping the "Ocean's Thirteen" vibe of ice-coolness. - Michael Phillips
Variety 7 of 10
A nefarious infomercial tycoon specializing in phony products targeted to Latino viewers gets his comeuppance in pedestrian heist comedy "Ladron que roba a ladron." Mixing pure telenovela trash with populist themes of a Robin Hood redistributing the wealth to exploited couch potatoes, as well as various illegal-immigration topics, Spanish-language, U.S.-made pic is aimed at Univision fans who will lust for its roster of superstars, led by Fernando Colunga...Alejandro (Colunga) reunites with fellow thief Emilio (Miguel Varoni) in Los Angeles to rob the well-guarded safe of an Argentine informercial producer named, oddly (for an Argentinean), Moctezuma Valdez (Saul Lisazo). Distrustful of banks and holding all his cash savings in his home vault, Moctezuma has a history of crime with Alejandro, who masterminds the heist with a motley crew of illegal immigrants treated as invisible help -- theoretically, the perfect cover. Comic touches are obvious and broad, while helmer Joe Menendez lacks the essential energy for a vital heist entertainment. Title, taken from a Latin American proverb, roughly translates to "Thief That Robs a Thief." - Robert Koehler
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