Is 'Thief' the most badass movie ever made?

By now most film buffs are more than familiar with the Michael Mann aesthetic -- gorgeous visuals, propulsive soundtrack, terse dialogue and macho manhood in all its glory.

What's incredible is that this now veteran filmmaker had his signature style firmly established right off the bat in his first film -- the essential crime epic Thief.

This 1981 classic features the best role of James Caan's career (as an expert safe-cracker/thief) -- and it influenced a whole decade worth of genre film and television (and for the better, I might add).

Not only does the film revel in its intense authenticity (the high-tech -- for their time -- robberies aren't explained they're simply shown) but it creates a stark and unsettling mood all its own. We are plunged into the world of a protagonist who, despite a desire for a normal life, can turn into a nihilistic monster at the drop of a dime.

Caan's Frank (we never learn his last name) may be the most badass film 'hero' of all time (although several of Charles Bronson's characters give him a run for his money). At one point the film's villain (played by an oily Robert Prosky) tells him -- while threatening him with a gun, mind you -- that he's "scary" because he doesn't care if he lives or dies.

But the fact is Frank does care, desperately. In fact, it's his single-minded focus on survival that trumps everything else whether it's love or his purposely opaque fantasy life that is symbolically cobbled together via images from magazines.

The bloody and brutal climax of the film must have really shocked the few audiences that gave this movie a chance when it was first released -- but now it seems like the inevitable direction that Frank's life must take.

James Caan in Thief

The story is relatively bare bones and simple but the acting, look and sound of the film really elevate to greatness. This is a film which has rapidly climbed up my list of all time favorites, nearly cracking the top 30.

The Caan character and performance are sharply written and observed. The soundtrack -- by techo-pop masters Tangerine Dream is one of the best ever made (it sounds like how the '80s felt) and despite being a relatively low budget film, few director make action and suspense more pretty to look at than Michael Mann.

I hesitate to use word's like "guy's picture" and "chick flick" but this is a film about a world of men -- in which women are desired but also easily discarded. It's also not a movie about redemption or humanity -- it's actually a pretty bleak character study.

A prototypical Michael Mann shot in Thief

The final shot, which I won't spoil here, has a real power to it. You're probably not supposed to admire Frank's character -- but I do. Fearlessness is something I find incredibly appealing in my movie heroes and he is practically oozing it.

You wish you could talk like that guy or walk like that guy (Caan has a very imitable strut in this film) but it would never be socially acceptable in the real world or at least not in a world where everything is strictly legal. But who wouldn't want to march into an office, whip out a gun and demand "my money."

Is Thief the most badass movie of all time? I don't know -- but it's definitely one of the toughest, which is why I love it to death.