~ ~ What do you do to keep yourself amused when you’ve got more money stashed away than Rockefeller? Simple really; you turn your mind to crime, and devise interesting and ingenious new ways to rip off priceless works of art! That is, if your name happens to be Thomas Crown. (Played by Pierce Brosnan)
This 1999 movie, directed by John McTiernan, and starring Irish actor Pierce Brosnan (James Bond et al) and Rene Russo is a remake of an earlier heist movie of the same name from 1968 that starred the late, great Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway. Given the large amount of extremely poor remakes that have hit the cinema screens recently this movie was surprisingly good, possibly because it stuck fairly closely to the story and script of the 1968 version, which was itself excellent.

~ ~ The plot is relatively simple, although the convolutions and twists in the storyline are not, keeping you guessing to the ultimate outcome right up to nearly the end of the movie. (A sure sign of a good crime caper movie) Thomas Crown (Brosnan) is a millionaire financier who has it all. The houses, apartments, servants, private jets, fancy cars and even fancier women, and more money than the Bank of England. He’s an established patron of the arts, with an extensive private collection of masterpieces. But he’s finding life boring, and needs a challenge to get the old competitive juices flowing once again. Hence his audacious plan to rip off a famous Monet from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which he manages with ease, totally stumping the local police in the process.
Enter stage left the other hero of the piece, Catherine Banning (Rene Russo), who is a highly successful and motivated insurance claim investigator who specialises in recovering stolen works of art. (For a high percentage of the value!) She more or less takes over the running of the investigation into the robbery from the head honchos of the cops, the bad tempered Detective Michael McCann (Denis Leary) and his partner Detective Paretti (Frankie Faison).

~ ~ Anyone who thinks that actor Piece Brosnan lacks talent and is only capable of playing all-action hero roles (such as James Bond 007) should think again and watch this movie. Brosnan is outstanding as the ultra-rich super crook Crown. Granted the role fits perfectly his established screen (and real-life) persona as the ultimate Mr. Cool, with his mega-millions, Armani suits and Gucci shoes, and an unbeatable line in patter. But this film plays out at all sorts of different levels, as he reveals his unashamed joy and longing when he at last finds his true “soul mate” in life, and his inherent insecurity as he tries to work out with his therapist just how to deal with his conflicting emotions.
In the scene with his therapist the director employs a lovely touch, as he uses actress Faye Dunaway, who played the “Catherine Banning” role opposite Steve McQueen in the original 1968 version of the movie.
I’ve long been a fan of actress Rene Russo, enjoying the banter she employs with her leading men in movies such as “Lethal Weapon 3” (Mel Gibson), “Outbreak” (Dustin Hoffman), “In The Line of Fire” (Clint Eastwood), and one of my own particular favourite Russo movies, “Tin Cup”, where she plays (and lays) dissolute golf professional Kevin Costner. Russo isn’t beautiful in the classic sense of the word, but she has that something special that makes her attractive to men, and plays it for all it’s worth. Combine this with the fact that she’s an outstanding actress, and you have a recipe almost sure to produce success.