Thomas Crown Affair, The (1999)

reviewed by
Akiva Gottlieb


The Thomas Crown Affair **1/2
rated R
MGM Pictures
113 minutes
starring Pierce Brosnan, Rene Russo, Denis Leary, Frankie Faison, Faye
Dunaway, Ben Gazzara
based on the story by Alan R. Trustman
written by Leslie Dixon and Kurt Wimmer
directed by John McTiernan

John McTiernan's "The Thomas Crown Affair" is a predictable, overly familiar remake of the Steve McQueen/Faye Dunaway romance caper. Pierce Brosnan is Thomas Crown, a billionaire who also lies to steal fine art. When a valuable piece is missing from the New York Museum of Modern Art, ins urance bounty hunter Katherine(Rene Russo) must investigate Crown, and ends up falling into a passionate love affair with the man whom she knows is guilty. The plot sounds a lot like "Entrapment", with Sean Connery, but the acting in "Thomas Crown" is better. Pierce Brosnan has always annoyed me, playing the same role over and over, but this is that role and he does fine with it. Rene Russo is back on screen and looking better than ever; she also hasn't lost her tough-girl act, which is fine with me. However, this film is lacking a good script as well as anything fresh or new, so as a result it's not much fun. Also, while some elements of "The Thomas Crown Affair" are well-made, John McTiernan("Die Hard") pays little attention to details, so the film should have gone through one more edit. Where "The Thomas Crown Affair" should be slick and smooth, it's glib and rough. You're better off sticking with the original.

a capsule review by Akiva Gottlieb, The Teenage Movie Critic akiva@excite.com http://teenagemoviecritic.8m.com


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