The Thomas Crown Affair

John McTiernan directs this stylish remake of the Steve McQueen/Faye Dunaway original and achieves rare acclaim for a remake actually being better than the original.

Brosnan plays Thomas Crown, a multi-millionaire entrepenuer playboy who is also suspected (right from the word go) of being an art thief. Russo is Insurance Investigator CAtherine Banning he follows hot on the trail of the art thief who stole the $100million Monet from the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. She quickly narrows down the list of suspects to one: Thomas Crown, but before long she finds herself falling for him.

The chemistry between the two leads is particularly effective, although Brosnan is playing a role he seems born to play - that of the suave, rich, handsome playboy he makes him interesting enough that he is not stereotyped. Russo is particularly effective as the sassy and confident Catherine. Dennis Leary also convinces as the frustrated cop overseeing the robbery investigation.

Although the film is primarily character-driven, with the focus being on Crown and Banning’s relationship, there are also a couple of excellent robbery sequences which far surpass anything Entrapment had to offer in that they were both complex but simple at the same timeand make for enthralling and entertaining viewing - evidence of Director McTiernan’s action background In short, even minus the famous Chess Sequence from the original film, The Thomas Crown Affair is a smart, sexy and above all fun film to watch.

Matthew Francis