The Thomas Crown Affair

An excellent director, along with brilliant acting, unbelievably good music, and a great story makes...???

You guessed it!!!

A freakin' great movie!!!!

All hail John McTiernan!!!

Excellent movie. Wonderful acting. Phenomenal music.

Love the soundtrack

Above average heist adventure. It's light and fun which is helped by all the talent involved. Great chemistry between Brosnan and Russo.

****Brosnan And Russo Dance****
Allow me to be romantic. For this is a romance, after all.

Remember that time you were with her (or him) when you suddenly, for the first time, thought, "I think I might be in love with her"? And the supreme pleasure of that thought was tinged with an element of doubt..."but what if she doesn't feel the same way"?
Take the first stirrings of love and blend it with a smoothness. Smooth like smooth jazz. Like a warm brandy. Smooth like a ballad sung by Sting. "The Thomas Crown Affair" is smooth.
This is my favorite film by Rene Russo. She is so smart and so stunning. She could easily be the object of an artist's affections, right?
Remington Steele. Bond, James Bond. In "Thomas Crown". Pierce Brosnan gets the role where he is his smoothest. No sharp edges. Collected even when not cool. Like a muted trumpet. Like a Modigliani.
They play the game of confidence, where the artist promises to trust the pigeon. Not since "Double Indemnity" has the business of insurance been this sexy. There are other worthy performances here, but this is a pas de deux, aided by some wonderful writing.
The final sequences are clever, captivating, perhaps confusing in the best way, but then....smooth.
Why compare this film to the original? Why compare a Modigliani to a Titian? Just enjoy the ride.


My Score: 7/10.

At times superior to the original and yet frustratingly inferior overall.

The original had that 60s leanness to it with little dialogue and moodiness in place of narrative. That doesn't immediately mean that the remake is inferior. But the ending of the original being so open-ended... Will she follow on? Was she duped or angry at failing to dupe?

The remake takes certain aspects of the relationship and makes them less opaque. In this version, they clearly have fallen for each other and, though the sport is still there, the intention is unequivocal.

And that's ultimately to its detriment.

Brosnan is perhaps too cocky. Russo is giddy for much of the second half. Yet their chemistry is good.

All in all though, it's a decent attempt to beef up the plot. I liked the art heists more as a concept though maybe they weren't shot as well. It's the changing of the relationship dynamic that sets this back.


Confusingly as a rating I give it a little more than the original because it is beefier and more polished - though inferior when taking in to consideration only that it is not the original.

If we lived in a world where I was asked to recommend this version and deny the other ever existed, I'd rate it as follows:

7.25/10

>"Do you want to dance? Or do you want to DANCE?"

Heists are always cool. Art heists are even better. I have not seen the original film so I can't compare it, but this film has its charm. Pierce Brosnan can look at you in the eyes and sell you anything.

Classy heist movie that is pretty good. Pierce Brosnan and Renee Russo has some serious chemistry try. Great movie.

Enjoyable but fairly forgettable. Russo and Brosnan help elevate this film and seem to be having a lot of fun with the parts. They have a great rapport with each other and the film completely relies on their chemistry to make it work. The actual heists however are completely ridiculous and stretch credibility to breaking point.

I always like Pierce Brosnan, but Rene Russo just wasn't really working for me. Not sure if it's more a character issue or performance issue, or both, but I wasn't particularly invested in the romance, which is a problem given that it is ultimately the main focus. There are strong individual moments (e.g., [spoiler]tossing the unknown art piece in the fire[/spoiler]), but the chemistry and overall arc didn't work for me. Luckily, the art thieving and investigating elements are serviceable enough to keep things watchable, with the opening sequence and final set piece both working well (minor detail regarding music - the opening sequence heavily uses a techno/electronic riff that feels quite dated, whereas the final sequence benefits from Nina Simone's timeless Sinnerman). Denis Leary also is solid as the main detective.

Side note - at time of writing this review, the description for this movie on Trakt looks like it must be based on the original 1968 version, because it definitely doesn't line up with the plot of this one. In case it is updated later, it currently reads: "Young businessman Thomas Crown is bored and decides to plan a robbery and assigns a professional agent with the right information to the job. However, Crown is soon betrayed yet cannot blow his cover because he’s in love."