In fact, I believe that is a plus, as that extra grit affords him the ability to be a bad-boy playboy and sporty thief so he can change from selling property to racing a dunebuggy or flying a glider in no time. He�s not �too square� and except for that annoying laugh he emits after the ultimate bank score I loved the character and can�t imagine anyone but McQueen in the role, as you�ll see in my review after this one of the 1999 remake.
Faye Dunaway is crazy sexy cool. Vicky is driven by money to do her job (she gets 10% of all dough that is returned) and by her own admission is �immoral.� But you can�t help but love her for Dunaway�s charm and charisma. Great actress, and her back-to-back performances in Bonnie and Clyde and Thomas Crown in the late 60s makes for a solid Saturday night double feature on a Saturday night.
There is real sexual chemistry between McQueen and Dunaway, unlike the remake as I discuss below. Not many films can get away with creating the sexual heat over a chess match, which of course is a natural metaphor for their cat-and-mouse relationship. She uses her sexuality with suggestive movements to woo him into making bad moves, while he just clears the board and cuts to the chase: sex. I�d say they both win!
The bank caper at the beginning is well done directorially and looked very cool on screen as all the elements came together for Crown to orchestrate the perfect criminal sonata.
Despite being powerful and rich, Crown gets his kicks by committing the ultimate crimes to get his blood flowing.
Interesting camerawork and editing by Jewison, as there is a variety of techniques used in the film, such as frequent out-of-focus shots to make a point, or breaking the screen into multiple boxes of either the same shot or several scenes that are important to the moment.
The verdict: 
The Thomas Crown Affair, 1999
1999, 1 hr 53 min., Rated R for some sexuality, nudity and language. Dir: John McTiernan. Cast: Pierce Brosnan (Thomas Crown), Rene Russo (Catherine Banning), Denis Leary (Det. Michael McCann), Faye Dunaway (The Psychiatrist).
Pierce Brosnan hasn�t stretched far from the James Bond role, has he? Still a smug playboy who can do everything physically possible and have any woman he wants. Sure, it�s a great character, but why not stretch a bit, Pierce? I think to make up for this recent spate of playboys, you have to be a poor, celibate monk who sings Gregorian chants and has to live in a featureless area in Norway. It might not be as fun, but at least it is different.
No bank heist; instead an elaborate, Trojan Horse outfit perpetrates an art theft. More 90s I suppose.
Brosnan�s Crown is essentially the same as McQueen�s, just not near as cool as his predecessor can be on screen. Instead of a polo match we get to see Brosnan wreck a catamaran for the heck of it and he discards the laugh that bugged me for a glowing smile and big cigar in celebration of his thieving achievement. Also, Brosnan�s Crown is a little more modern in that he sees a shrink every week. The kicker to this is that his shrink is portrayed by none other than Faye Dunaway, making a funny cameo in the updated version of her better film.
Rene Russo takes on Dunaway�s role of the insurance investigator who knows that Tommy Crown tends to commit illegal acts. I�ll give Rene this, she is still sexy at age 44 and able to induce multiple fantasies in young men. To prove this, she decides to bare her chest throughout the film. It isn�t necessary, but who�s complaining? In 1999 she only gets 5% of the cut, which isn�t a reduction in women�s lib because the worth of the painting is $100 million. Dunaway would only get 10% of the $2.5 million + stolen from the bank. Who knew there has been that much inflation?
Unlike the original, there is no sexual chemistry between Brosnan and Russo. What may actually have detracted what was the filmmaker employed to spice things up, by showing them naked and writhing in several kinky positions. Sometimes the hint of sexuality is more enticing than actually showing it up front.
One thing I liked better about the remake was the music. It has a jazz flavor and is more playful, while scores pre-1970 seemed to overtake the movie. As someone born in 1975 I like the music to stay underneath the dialogue and action, and not just in movies, either. When I�m directing at work (at CNN Headline News for those not in the know) I like to keep NAT sound (that�s the sound under the anchor or reporter�s read) and music softer in order to be a complement, not the main attraction.
In addition to the score, Sting�s version of �Windmills of Your Mind� blows away the previous work.
Denis Leary is another positive to the 1999 version of Crown, as the pissant cop in charge of the investigation who is constantly gussied up over Russo�s tactics. His character is still a whiner, but given more screen time to make the viewer sympathetic with his views.
On the same line of Leary�s character being more relatable, this is in accordance with 90s laws in the motion picture business, of delving deeply into the emotional subconscious of characters. While this may expand the reach of audience and fit with our modern mindset of �feelings� above all-else, it does not gel in The Thomas Crown Affair. This was not a film made for touchy-feely exploration. The draw is the playboy thief and the games he plays with life. When McQueen and Dunaway played it was cute and around the edges, but in 1999 Brosnan and Russo get emotionally involved which makes the film too heavy-handed.
Also in accordance with 90s film standards, in order to create this idiotic emotionally involving romantic relationship the filmmakers decide to throw in the boring and unnecessary �misunderstood other girl� scenario. If you�re going to do this, just make it a romantic comedy with Julia Roberts the lead. The original understood what it was, a fun caper flick with two great talents at the helm. The remake, while having two decent actors, doesn�t know what it wants to be.
The verdict: 