After the boring and weak The 13th Warrior, John McTiernan returned to the silver screen less than a year later with The Thomas Crown Affair. Having made some amazing films in the beginning of his career, McTiernan tapered off and made films that ranged from ok to mediocre with a few pretty descent films in the middle.
When he first came to prominence he made a trio of modern classics that have stood the test of time and to some extent got even better with age. There was absolutely no sign of McTiernan's genius in his last film and thus it was with some trepidation that I just rewatched (not since the theater) The Thomas Crown Affair.
Well I can safely say that this film towers over in quality compared to The 13th Warrior. While not as good as his earlier work, it still works as a movie and ranks higher than other works in the McTiernan catalogue. The Thomas Crown Affair is fun, sexy, enjoyable, fast paced, intriguing, well acted, well shot and well put together.
Crown is a remake of a late 60's movie starring Steve McQueen. The plot concerns an extremely successful yet bored businessman who steals art for fun. Pierce Brosnan takes over the role originally played by McQueen. Renee Russo plays a role originally played by Faye Dunaway and Dennis Leary appears as a cop on Crown's tail.
I've never seen the original but from what I've read about it, McTiernan's remake is considered a better film overall. McQueen was the king of cool when he made Crown; Brosnan was James Bond, which is pretty cool. He plays Crown in a dashing, smart and yes, almost Bondian way. While never the most versatile actor, Brosnan does have a lot of charm and pulls off the character nicely.
The best performance though, comes from Russo, who has never looked better. She plays her character to the nines, dishing out surprises, humour and sexiness all in equal doses. She is a pleasure to watch and joy to be seen. Leary plays his usual wise cracking self (which I love) and adds to the pleasure of watching this film. But again, it is really Russo who steals the picture from under everybody's feet.
McTiernan directs Crown with panache and style, something that he seemed to forget with his last picture. He uses his actors to full effect and gets the most, as usual, out of his cinematographer. The scene on the catamaran is stunning shot and looks fantastic. As does the opening heist, which moves frantically from Brosnan, to heist, and heist to Brosnan. The film is nicely edited, and although it doesn't feel overlong or boring, it could use a trim here and there.
The Thomas Crown Affair most closely resembles (of all Mctiernan's films) Medicine Man. While a much better movie than Medicine Man, they are both romantic and action oriented thrillers. The former wasn't sure whether to concentrate on the action, the story or the romance and thus got lost and muddled in what kind of movie it was, McTiernan does the complete opposite with Crown.
Here the action almost plays in the background while the love story plays up front and centre, almost. McTiernan does a beautiful job moving from action to romance and the two move well between one another. And the chemistry between Russo and Brosnan is magnetic. The scene on the dance floor, is ultra sexy (and Russo's see through dress doesn't hurt either).
While not terribly original (it is a remake), The Thomas Crown Affair is a fun and energetic film that has plenty of replayability. With twist and turns, cool heists, sexy characters, nudity, good humor, and lots of good looking people, Crown has something for everyone. The music is light, if not particularly memorable and the story plays out at a break neck pace.
While not McTiernan's best film, it certainly is better than his last film and better than a few other's in his cannon (and in my opinion, towers over the other heist film of the time Entrapment). So if you are in the mood for something fun and light, something that will entertain and titillate, and something that will hold up to repeated viewings then you can't go wrong with The Thomas Crown Affair.
Film Rating: 76%
Breakdown (How The Thomas Crown Affair scored 76%):
Production Design: 8 out of 10
Cinematography: 8 out of 10
Re-playability: 7 out of 10
Originality: 7 out of 10
Costumes: 8 out of 10
Directing: 8 out of 10
Editing: 8 out of 10
Acting: 8 out of 10
Music: 7 out of 10
Script: 7 out of 10
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