more movie views by jamey hughton at : <a href= " http : //welcome . to/movieviews " >http : //welcome . to/movieviews</a>the thomas crown affair , a remake of the 1968 steve mcqueen romance of the same name , is a glossy star vehicle with an attractive surface but an empty shell . while you will probably enjoy the star chemistry , the film lacks a certain urgency . and those expecting present 007 pierce brosnan to be dodging explosions and attempting death-defying stunts should look elsewhere . this remake follows a more laid-back and conventional pace , but it still can be fun . brosnan plays a wealthy art lover named thomas crown who steals expensive paintings because , well , he likes to . his latest heist has aroused some suspicion . after an ingeniously crafted caper in a museum involving a group of hired goons and a decoy helicopter , the insurance company sends in a representative by the name of catherine banning ( rene russo ) to investigate . banning , with a striking fashion sense and a very floppy hairdo , manages to piece together the heist in a few brief moments of scanning the video surveillance . but the identity of the ( very bright ) burglar is still unanswered . working with detective michael mccann ( denis leary ) , banning works fast . she attends a party uninvited , wearing a very revealing dress , and gets to know mr . crown a little better . she knows this debonair businessman is the thief , but she can't find the evidence to prove it . the chemistry between brosnan and russo in this film is not a noticeable strong point . they work well enough on an individual basis , but don't create enough believable sparks together to make their relationship click properly . pierce brosnan perhaps wasn't the best actor to take over for steve mcqueen , because he's lacking more than a few striking attributes that the latter was known for . but his performance is slick enough to hide these drawbacks . russo's role , also maybe better suited to a different actress , is still the stronger one . she has never looked better . perhaps casting wasn't the most persuasive part of the thomas crown affair , but the actors are in top form . the 2nd act of this film struggles valiantly to hold the viewer's attention . the director is john mctiernan , who is far more accustomed to helming big-budget action films ( he was behind the camera for die hard and predator ) . perhaps it's his direction , but most of the thomas crown affair feels somewhat stiff . the actors and scenery are pretty , the set-up is well staged , but there is little push behind the initial story . everything seems to meander along slowly until the last fifteen minutes , which contain just enough clever twists and turns to keep us interested . if there had been more focus on this sneaky little fun , the majority of the plot could have moved smoother ( the opposite goes for entrapment , which was fun and exciting but rarely stopped to establish character details ) . the presence of denis leary as the bickering detective helps . leary is a gifted comic actor who adds some zest to the story , although i did want more from his character . there's also faye dunaway , the original insurance investigator in the 1968 version , playing crown's psychiatrist and having fun doing so . inserting dunaway in more than just a brief cameo appearance was another wise move . little additions like this one can prove very effective when carefully scattered throughout a movie . an action film this ain't . the thomas crown affair is more like a long-shot romance with a detailed back story to support it . it has a tendency to be very entertaining , but the lack of a real 2nd act nearly sinks it . the actors are charming , but can't scrounge up enough sparks to keep the momentum flowing . this film has a great opening , a memorable finale , but what's left in-between leaves something to be desired . 
