Grade: (B+)
A fun crime-thriller with a heavy addition of romance that add nicely to Brosnan and Russo’s chemistry to result in a very enjoyable caper.
Synopsis
A wealthy man with anything he wants at his fingertips, moonlights by stealing priceless artwork and suddenly finds himself enthralled in a seductive insurance agent investigating the missing painting he recently stole.
My Take
A remake of the 1968 film of the same title directed by Norman Jewison, this time directed by John McTiernan, was a fun crime caper film with a great blend of romance to make for a fun-filled adventure. The script was fluid and kept the flow moving and was detailed enough to create a truly interesting heist that was ambitiously conceived and has you captivated to see how it will turn out. With great structure to the story and not much time wasted in sub-plots there was enough time to build a backdrop for the two lead characters as well as building their love dynamic in a plausible way.
Pierce Brosnan was fun and charismatic in the lead and completely looked the part of a wealthy business man, although a little too similar to his persona used during his James Bond run during the same time period. While I did find myself thinking of his 007 role a little too often during the film, he was still more than able in the role and was as charming as the character needed him to be.
Plus he nailed his dance scenes with Russo making for some laughable moments every time you see his facial expressions. I also liked the cut-scenes to his psychiatrist played by Faye Dunaway, I felt these brief moments added to developing the personality and motivations of Crown giving his character great accessibility.
Rene Russo was also very strong in the film and without question delivered the persona of a strong independent and highly seductive woman who was skilled at her job of being an insurance investigator, by using a range of methods.
The development of both her and Brosnan’s characters make them a perfect match for one another and in the end you sit back and want the film to lead them to one another – thus keeping you captivated throughout to see the result. The strong chemistry between the two was also a great addition in selling the scenes together as their relationship evolves. You can feel the strong mental and sexual appeal between the two.
The story-line pulls you into the world of the wealthy and the realm of fine art and with a clever heist came an even more creative third-act twist that keeps the entertainment high in a film that took itself seriously regardless of being a remake with source material.
In the end this was a sexy and stylish movie from the late 90’s that is still passable as a solid heist-film and crime-caper flick today. It relied on the story-line, not the action and whether or not it was as good as the original I cannot say but this version of “The Thomas Crown Affair” led by Brosnan and Russo is a viable film on its own, and well crafted all around.
