Movies
Ranking John McTiernan Films: #5 – “The Thomas Crown Affair” (1999)
The Thomas Crown Affair is McTiernan’s first remake, and the movie he chose to make is strange.
“A very rich and successful playboy amuses himself by stealing artwork, but may have met his match in a seductive detective.”
Director: John McTiernan
Writers: Alan Trustman, Leslie Dixon, Kurt Wimmer
Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Rene Russo, Denis Leary, Ben Gazzara
Release Date: August 6, 1999
IMDB
The Thomas Crown Affair is McTiernan’s first remake, and the movie he chose to make is strange. Thomas Crown, played by Brosnan, is a self-made wealthy man who steals art for fun. Catherine Banning, played by Rene Russo, is an insurance agent working for the money, that is, until she gets caught up in a will-they or won’t-they romance with the possible suspect.
Pierce Brosnan was on his womanizing trend hard in the late 20th century. Goldeneye in 1995 burst him onto the scene with the rich, debonair lifestyle. Sure, Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Was Not Enough were major downturns in quality, but nonetheless the hairy-chest, camera-gazing Irishman gets his work in.
Brosnan in The Thomas Crown Affair is done a disservice by being pushed into the background in the latter portion of the movie. Russo takes on the lead character quality, and that substitution of perspective never occurs in the 1968 original.
I gotta say, I prefer the original. Give me Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway. They have much better chemistry than Brosnan and Russo. It’s like McTiernan had to admit he couldn’t match their spark when he didn’t recreate the sexiest chess game of all time. One can appreciate McTiernan casting Dunaway as the psychiatrist to Crown in this 1999 version, but the ending and overall vibes of the 1968 caper are one level above.
STANKO RATING: C
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