The Thomas Crown Affair

Director: John McNaughton
Year Released: 1999
Rating: 1.0

Crafty yet dull and over-long remake of the original Steve McQueen/Faye Dunaway film. McQueen and Dunaway are, in this case, replaced by Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo, with Brosnan playing Bond and Russo doing a very bad feminine version of Sam Spade (I personally think someone like Linda Fiorentino would have been better here). Russo doesn't carry the acting ability or possess any aura of being an 'intellectual' to make her role believable. The plot, seemingly, is both stupid and crafty. The two robberies are well directed by John McTiernan, but the fluff in-between (the middle act) is hardly inventive or interesting. It mostly consists of scenes in which the daft, clever Brosnan mentally manipulates a constantly topless Russo. The director and screenwriter 'play' with the audience throughout the whole running time, and by the end we left with a So What? sensation - Brosnan's character never gets his comeuppance, Russo's found a new love interest and everything's going to be all right. Who would expect otherwise?