The Thomas Crown Affair

A fun-filled flick by mingling a thrilling museum-heist caper with an outlandish love story . This is a good remake to the classic (1968) by Norman Jewison starred by Steve McQueen , Faye Dunaway , Paul Burke , Jack Weston ; this ¨The Thomas Crown Affair¨ (1999) by John McTiernan boasts a stunning cast , such as Pierce Brosnan, Rene Russo, Denis Leary , Ben Gazzara . Thomas Crown (Pierce Brosnan who produced too) is a handsome , self-made billionaire who delights in theft and as he just can't resist pulling off the perfect crime , a daring , engrossing daylight museum robbery . But the rich industrialist is mercilessly chased by a gorgeous and efficient insurance investigator (Rene Russo) and a cunning police inspector (Denis Leary) , both of them determined to nab him . Brosnan and Russo , together and the slickest gang that ever robbed a museum ! How do you get the man who has everything? When You Raise The Stakes , You Heighten The Attraction . Crime does pay. Handsomely. He was attractive , handsome, jet-setting millionaire - and he'd just pulled off the perfect crime!. She was charming , beautiful , a super sleuth - sent to investigate it ! How do you get the man who has everything? When You Raise The Stakes, You Heighten The Attraction. Crime does pay. Handsomely.

Amusing and entertaining yarn that combines the necessary ingredients for a fun-filled film , alongside a colorful cinematography by Tom Priestley Jr and atmospheric soundtrack by Bill Conti . Slick , lavish rendition with innovative techniques through the competent shooting , and being the best visual scenes the seduction match between the two and eventually falling in love . Made with strong production with the museum raid scenes tautly effective . The storyline is too slight and enjoyable , providing amusement and entertainment enough . This is an agreeable and fun reboot but everyone seems to be an overlong copy of the excellent original , being a bit too hard to make it looks effortless . Stars two great protagonists , Pierce Brosnan at his best as a stubborn thief who moonlights as an art robber and Rene Russo as an unscrupulous insurance investigator who happens to be tracking him ; both of whom expanding their characters enough for us to identify fully with them . The verbal sparring and emotional tricks between these two compelling stars are a complete diversion and real joy . Being well accompanied by a sympathetic support cast , such as : Denis Leary , Ben Gazzara, Frankie Faison, Fritz Weaver, Charles Keating , Mark Margolis and special appearance from Faye Dunaway as Brosnan's shrink .

The motion picture was competently directed by John McTiernan who delivers innovative techniques that really move the story along . McTiernan is a prestigious and veteran filmmaker , his greatest film was , of course , ¨Predator¨. John was offered the chance to direct Commando (1985), but turned it down , but then he worked with Arnold Schwarzenegger later on ¨Predator¨ (1987) and ¨The last Great Hero¨ (1993). He is a good filmmaker , though the present-day is retired, and known for directing high-energy, violent action adventures and powerful thrillers , such as : ¨Die hard¨, ¨Die hard with a vengeance¨ , ¨13 warrior¨, ¨The hunt for Red october¨, ¨The Last great hero¨,¨Rolllerball¨ , ¨Nomads¨ , among others . Rating : 7/10 . Worthwhile watching .

If you've seen the original version and don't see the point in watching a different version of the same story don't worry; apart from the protagonist's name and general themes there are more than enough differences to make this worth watching.

Thomas Crown is one of New York's ultra-rich; he owns his own company and partakes in expensive sports. He is also bored. To alleviate that boredom he stages a heist in a museum and walks away with a painting valued at one hundred million dollars. The police start investigating and are soon joined by Catherine Banning, an insurance investigator hoping to save her employers from having to pay out. She quickly suspects Crown and soon a flirtatious game of cat and mouse begins as she tries to prove her suspicions and he leads her on without giving her the evidence she needs.

Remakes are seldom quite as good as the original, making them somewhat redundant, but thanks to the differences I'd definitely recommend this. The way the robbery takes place and later behaviour makes this Thomas Crown a slightly less amoral character. The robbery itself is enjoyable thanks to the way it is undertaken; the lack of real threat to people in the museum makes it easier to enjoy without feeling guilty. Once Catherine Banning arrives her character is at least as important as Crown and her pursuit of him is a lot of fun. The cast does a fine job most obviously Pierce Brosnan who is suitably suave as Crown and Rene Russo who brings a mature sexiness to the role of Banning. Overall I still prefer the original but still recommend this fun mix of crime and romance.

This remake in every way tops the original which you seldom see in a remake. Though Steve McQueen was considered the King Of Cool, Pierce Brosnan played Crown with all the debonair and confidence required of the character without going to far.

Rene Russo was a perfect fit. Her sex appeal surpasses that of Faye Dunaway in the original but in Dunaway's defense, the censors of her day would not have allowed what Russo got away with and McQueen was against nudity in movies. It goes without saying though that Russo and Prosnan had great chemistry.

The pacing was perfect, the music much better than the original, and the ending was totally unexpected. As a minor spoiler, I like how they don't reveal how he stole the other painting. There's a lot to like about this movie.

Forget all the explosions, car chases, crazy villains, special effects... The Thomas Crown Affair is not an action movie. It´s not even a thriller. Instead, it´s a well-done cat-and-mouse movie that´s smart, entertaining and very sexy. If you had to use one word to describe the film it would have to be sophisticated. The movie might appeal more to mature audiences as both the leading man and the leading lady are over 40 years old. Pierce Brosnan can obviously do other roles beside James Bond, but the role of Thomas Crown is at least somewhat similar to 007. Both guys "enjoy women" and are very suave. Overall, Brosnan gives a solid performance and is overshadowed only by Rene Russo who simply oozes sexuality and class. She is simply perfect in her role and though she´s twice as old as I am I find her a real knockout. Not only is she extremely hot, but also a very talented and charismatic actress. A perfect combination! The classy dance scene between Brosnan and Russo belongs to the most sexually-charged scenes in history and the following love-making scene manages to be both sexy and stylish. Usually nude scenes in Hollywood movies seem somehow "uneasy", but in this movie the scene is done in real style and with sensual music the atmosphere is sizzling. Who would want a disposable bimbo like Britney Spears when you could have a real class-act woman like Rene Russo? I would also like to mention Bill Conti whose simple yet refined music is simply outstanding. Just listen to the music during the scene in which Crown and Banning go glider flying... You can just close your eyes and listen to this wonderful music. Now I have to find the soundtrack for this film! I guess I should mention that I´ve never seen the original Thomas Crown, but now I don´t even have to bother as its updated version is a true pleasure to watch. I have nothing negative to say about it so just go get this film on DVD and enjoy!

I got to watch the 1968 Steve McQueen - Faye Dunaway - Paul Burke film when it showed in theaters in the 60's, then; at the dawn of the millenium, watched the 1999 Brosnan-Russo-Leary one and came out of the theater firmly believing that the original was much better in every sense. This week, thanks to the magic of streaming services I could watch both back to back. Contrary to popular wisdom there are remakes that are better than the originals and this is the proverbial sample button.

The plot is absolutely superior and direction does it justice; while the original, for its period might have been glamoruos and imaginative, it pakes pitifully on the comparison. The new script is much more agile, interesting and glamorous all around. Casting beats the old one hands down.

Acting: while McQueen and Dunaway might have been shining stars of their time, they feel stiff and cardboard nowadays. The personifications delivered by the 1999 cast are fluid and three-dimensional. Even with the age difference at the respective times of the films, Russo is way more stunning than Dunaway, who by the way does a credible analyst on the latter film. Burke did a poor performance compared to Leary's, who delivers a full and likable character.

In the glamour and high life section, there's simply no contest. Even the gliders are miles apart. The clothes of the characters are without comparison. Accessories, transports, dwellings... Brosnan exhudes money, McQueen... Hmm.

While the '68 file has a depressive ending the '99 version manages to squeeze-in a happy ending all around.

In sum, to really appreciate the '99 version, you need to watch the '68 one and transport yourself in time to the era. Then jump back ahead and compare.