IT DOESN'T TAKE A THIEF

When a legendary thief learns his career was engineered by a covert agency, he stages the ultimate heist—not to steal a jewel, but to expose the ledger that bought and sold people, forcing the world to reckon with who really owns justice.

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Overview

Poster
Unique Selling Point

This script's unique selling proposition is its inversion of the 'criminal with a heart of gold' trope by revealing the protagonist was deliberately engineered by the system he's forced to serve. Unlike typical heist stories about pulling off one big job, this explores the psychological and systemic implications of institutionalized criminality. The compelling hook isn't just 'thief works for government' but 'government creates thieves to control them.' This elevates it from procedural to philosophical thriller, asking timely questions about agency, truth, and systemic corruption in a world where institutions manufacture both problems and solutions.

AI Verdict & Suggestions

Ratings are subjective. So you get different engines' ratings to compare.

Hover over verdict cards for Executive Summaries

GPT5
 Recommend
Gemini
 Recommend
Grok
 Recommend
Claude
 Recommend
DeepSeek
 Recommend
Average Score: 8.3
Key Takeaways
For the Writer:
To elevate the script creatively, focus on integrating expository elements more visually and subtly, such as showing hints of the agency's program through early scenes rather than relying on dialogue-heavy revelations. Deepen supporting characters like Eleanor and Luc by adding personal backstories and internal conflicts early on to make their arcs more organic and emotionally engaging. Additionally, refine pacing in transitional scenes to maintain momentum and ensure thematic elements, like manufactured identity, feel earned through character actions rather than stated outright, enhancing the overall craft and depth.
For Executives:
The script has strong market value with its high-concept blend of heist thriller and conspiracy elements, offering commercial appeal similar to 'Leverage' or 'The Night Manager', and a timely theme of systemic corruption that could attract buyers. However, risks include underdeveloped supporting characters and vague world-building that might lead to credibility issues in a series, potentially alienating audiences or complicating production. Market perception is positive for its cinematic style and character hooks, but addressing these weaknesses is essential to avoid mid-season fatigue and ensure long-term viability.
Story Facts
Genres:
Action 30% Crime 45% Drama 40% Thriller 55%

Setting: Contemporary, Various locations across Europe, including a European coastal city, a federal prison, a private airfield, Zurich, Paris, and Brussels.

Themes: Freedom vs. Control/Systemic Manipulation, Identity and Authenticity, Deception and Truth, Memory and Loss, Revenge and Justice, Trust and Betrayal, Adaptation and Evolution

Conflict & Stakes: Jack's struggle against a manipulative agency and his quest for redemption, with his freedom and the truth about his past at stake.

Mood: Tense and introspective, with moments of suspense and emotional depth.

Standout Features:

  • Unique Hook: The protagonist's internal conflict and emotional baggage tied to a past love, which drives the narrative.
  • Plot Twist: The revelation that Jack's past exploits were orchestrated by the agency, complicating his quest for freedom.
  • Distinctive Setting: The use of various European cities as backdrops for the heist and personal drama adds richness to the visual storytelling.
  • Innovative Ideas: The screenplay explores themes of surveillance and control in a modern context, reflecting contemporary societal issues.

Comparable Scripts: The Thomas Crown Affair, Ocean's Eleven, The Bourne Identity, Catch Me If You Can, The Usual Suspects, Inside Man, The Italian Job, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Prestige

Script Level Analysis

Writer Exec

This section delivers a top-level assessment of the screenplay’s strengths and weaknesses — covering overall quality (P/C/R/HR), character development, emotional impact, thematic depth, narrative inconsistencies, and the story’s core philosophical conflict. It helps identify what’s resonating, what needs refinement, and how the script aligns with professional standards.

Screenplay Insights

Breaks down your script along various categories.

Overall Score: 8.03
Key Suggestions:
To improve the script creatively, prioritize deepening the character arcs of supporting characters like Eleanor and Draven by incorporating more backstory and internal conflicts, which will enhance emotional depth and audience engagement. Additionally, focus on tightening exposition-heavy scenes and escalating stakes in key moments to maintain pacing and heighten tension, ensuring the narrative remains compelling and immersive.
Story Critique

Big-picture feedback on the story’s clarity, stakes, cohesion, and engagement.

Key Suggestions:
To enhance the script's creative depth, concentrate on streamlining the narrative by reducing the number of characters and subplots to sharpen focus on Jack and Eleanor's core relationship, while clarifying motivations through more visual and subtle storytelling techniques. This will improve emotional resonance, pacing, and audience connection, transforming potentially overwhelming elements into a tighter, more engaging thriller that effectively balances action, character development, and thematic depth.
Characters

Explores the depth, clarity, and arc of the main and supporting characters.

Key Suggestions:
The character analysis highlights that while protagonists like Jack and Eleanor are richly developed with strong emotional arcs and thematic depth, supporting characters such as Nina and Luc lack sufficient complexity and growth, risking a one-dimensional feel. To enhance the script's craft, focus on fleshing out underdeveloped arcs, particularly for Nina, by incorporating personal stakes and transformation moments, and ensure all character interactions deepen the exploration of themes like control and redemption for a more engaging and cohesive narrative.
Emotional Analysis

Breaks down the emotional journey of the audience across the script.

Key Suggestions:
From a creative perspective, the script's emotional core is strong in key moments like Jack's revelations, but it suffers from over-reliance on sustained high tension and limited emotional variety, leading to potential audience fatigue. To improve, focus on adding contrasting emotional beats, such as moments of levity or vulnerability, and deepen secondary characters' arcs by showing rather than telling their emotions, ensuring a more balanced and resonant narrative that enhances character depth and pacing.
Goals and Philosophical Conflict

Evaluates character motivations, obstacles, and sources of tension throughout the plot.

Key Suggestions:
The script's strength lies in its deep exploration of Jack's internal and external goals, particularly the philosophical conflict between control and freedom, which drives a compelling character arc. To enhance the craft, focus on tightening the pacing around key revelations, such as the 85-90% mark where conflicts resolve, to ensure emotional beats land powerfully and avoid any sense of predictability. Additionally, amplify subtle moments of character development, like Jack's interactions with Isabel's memory, to deepen audience empathy and reinforce thematic elements, making the story more resonant and less reliant on action for propulsion.
Themes

Analysis of the themes of the screenplay and how well they’re expressed.

Key Suggestions:
The script's thematic depth, particularly around freedom versus control and identity, is a strong foundation, but to elevate the craft, focus on tightening the emotional beats involving Jack's memories of Isabel. By integrating more subtle, character-driven moments—such as expanding on his internal monologues or flashbacks—the writer can enhance audience empathy and make the high-stakes action feel more personal and less formulaic, ultimately strengthening the narrative's impact without overwhelming the pace.
Logic & Inconsistencies

Highlights any contradictions, plot holes, or logic gaps that may confuse viewers.

Key Suggestions:
The script's core narrative is engaging but suffers from inconsistencies and plot holes that undermine its emotional depth and logical flow. To improve, focus on strengthening character motivations, such as giving Eleanor's shift in allegiance more gradual buildup, and ensure key elements like the second drive are foreshadowed to enhance authenticity and pacing. Addressing redundancies, like repeated photo examinations, will tighten the story, making it more impactful and allowing for deeper exploration of themes like freedom and manipulation.

Scene Analysis

All of your scenes analyzed individually and compared, so you can zero in on what to improve.

Scene-Level Percentile Chart
Hover over the graph to see more details about each score.
Go to Scene Analysis

Other Analyses

Writer Exec

This section looks at the extra spark — your story’s voice, style, world, and the moments that really stick. These insights might not change the bones of the script, but they can make it more original, more immersive, and way more memorable. It’s where things get fun, weird, and wonderfully you.

Unique Voice

Assesses the distinctiveness and personality of the writer's voice.

Key Suggestions:
The script's voice is a strong asset, with its concise dialogue and atmospheric descriptions effectively building tension and depth. To improve, focus on expanding emotional arcs for characters like Jack and Eleanor, ensuring that psychological elements are as developed as the action, to add layers of complexity and prevent the narrative from feeling overly reliant on plot twists. This would enhance the script's resonance and make the moral ambiguities more compelling.
Writer's Craft

Analyzes the writing to help the writer be aware of their skill and improve.

Key Suggestions:
To refine this screenplay, focus on deepening dialogue with more subtext and nuance to heighten emotional stakes, while expanding character backstories and motivations for richer development. Tightening pacing in key scenes will sustain tension, and exploring themes more profoundly will amplify the narrative's impact, leveraging the existing strengths in visual storytelling and character dynamics.
Memorable Lines
Spotlights standout dialogue lines with emotional or thematic power.
Tropes
Highlights common or genre-specific tropes found in the script.
World Building

Evaluates the depth, consistency, and immersion of the story's world.

Key Suggestions:
The script's world building is a strong asset, effectively using European locales and technological elements to mirror themes of control and rebellion, but to elevate the craft, focus on integrating more nuanced cultural details and sensory experiences in key scenes. This could deepen character arcs, such as Jack's journey, by making the environment more immersive and less reliant on familiar espionage tropes, fostering greater emotional resonance and originality in the narrative.
Correlations

Identifies patterns in scene scores.

Key Suggestions:
The script's strength lies in its use of revelations to drive character growth, but overreliance on tense tones risks audience fatigue, potentially dulling emotional impact. To improve, incorporate more tonal variety early on, add subtle conflicts to reflective scenes for better pacing, and ensure revelations are earned through foreshadowing, enhancing overall engagement and depth without altering the core narrative.
Loglines
Presents logline variations based on theme, genre, and hook.