The Thomas Crown Affair

May 27, 2017 - Sparks fly when Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo engage in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse. Denis Leary, Ben Gazzara and Faye Dunaway also appear in this 1999 remake of the original 1968 film that starred Dunaway and Steve McQueen.

In this version, Brosnan is Thomas Crown, a successful businessman with more money than he knows what to do with. To amuse himself, he concocts an elaborate scheme to steal a valuable Monet from New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. The case is assigned to NYPD detective Michael McCann, but his authority is quickly trumped by Catherine Banning (Russo), probably the art world's most glamourous – and smartest – bounty hunter.

It's game on as Banning quickly zeroes in on Crown as her prime suspect. He welcomes her as a worthy adversary, and she admires his dashing ingenuity. It's a match made in heaven, but can either one really trust the other? Especially when one of them really is a thief?

Overall review: *** It's odd that I'm just now getting around to reviewing this film because it's one of those movies that I watch whenever I come across it. Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo are at their stylish best, and they have great chemistry. Denis Leary is appropriately snarky and competent. The dialogue says a lot without saying too much, and the scenes in the museum are timed to the second. If you have a couple of hours to kill, this is a great way to do it.