One of the hardest things for a filmmaker to do is to redo somebody else’s work. You either get slaughtered for changing the film too much or for making a shot for shot remake (Psycho 1999 anyone!) Fortunately the original Thomas Crown was not an all time classic so most of the audience won't have seen the original to compare.


The story

Thomas Crown (Pierce Brosnan) is a multi-billionaire businessman who is bored of buying up all the competition and wants to have some fun (Bill Gates pay attention!) So he arranges a massive heist to steel a $100M painting from the gallery. Rene Russo is employed by the insurance company who don't want to have to pay out for the lost painting. The heist is taken care of right at the beginning of the film leaving the rest of the film to build the relationship between the two main characters.

The main problem with a film like this is that you know 'who dun it' before you watch the film and it is also very obvious from the beginning that Crown won't be going to jail at the end of the film. There is also the far-fetched ness of the whole 'steal it - put it back' idea but then I think that is the idea of the film.

The main actors are all on top form with Brosnan and Russo portraying a believable couple. Unfortunately whenever there is a scene when he is in a suit you think he's James Bond! (she offers him a drink at the bar and you expect him to ask for a vodka martini) Denis Leary is as usual excellent this time as a cop who is always one step behind the pair.

The two main set pieces are well handled by McTiernan with the music used particularly effective and the relationship is well developed after you believe that she knows its him after about 30 secs.

The DVD

As you would expect a fine transfer with the 2-sided DVD caused by a wide screen and 4:3 conversion on the DVD. The picture was particularly good at the cinema as the visuals were a main part of the film. The sound is also excellent, particularly the glider scene with the sounds whooshing past.

The extras on the disk are slightly disappointing. The two trailers show you more about how cinema has changed rather than anything about the films. The directors commentary proves why on a lot of DVD's they have more than one person doing the commentary, there are large silences and it all gets a bit technical, you feel that if either of the two stars had been on the commentary there would have been some more inside information.

Overall

A more than adequate remake featuring two excellent performances, which proves that you can have sexual tension with two people over thirty.

James Timothy