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The new version, directed with a surprisingly light touch by John McTiernan (Die Hard), improves on the original in several ways, notably in the decision to change Crown from a bank robber to an art thief; his criminality is now more whimsical and more romantic. Rene Russo, with her lush body and gorgeously arrogant jaw, finally has a role that allows her to tap the anger in her sensuality. There's a leonine threat to her flirtations, yet she isn't afraid to show amorous desperation as well. Catherine and Thomas have sweaty, thrashing sex (on the stairs, on a desk...), and for once an acrobatic movie love scene earns its passion.

The Thomas Crown Affair is arch without being cynical. Though it bears an obvious similarity to Entrapment, it's really the movie The Avengers wanted to be. Brosnan and Russo make a nifty match as jaded fortysomething glamour-pusses who realize they're just tired enough of using other people to try trusting one another. When Thomas flies Catherine around in a sleek white glider, zooming over acres of autumnal trees, we take it all in through her lovestruck eyes, and it's a bubbly, transporting moment. By the end, we understand why Crown, who confesses his loneliness to a shrink (played by Dunaway), has such a dedicated fetish for museum heists. In its sneaky and offhanded way, The Thomas Crown Affair is a tribute to the art of stealing beauty.

Originally posted Aug 13, 1999 Published in issue #498 Aug 13, 1999 Order article reprints
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