MovieChat Forums > The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) Discussion > Why I dislike this movie (minor spoilers...

Why I dislike this movie (minor spoilers throughout)

posted 8 years ago by chicago2012
2 replies | jump to latest

(F.Y.I.: Just seen it for the 1st time, so there is no nostalgia factor with me. Also never saw the original. My only interest was because Brosnan was in it)

1. The relationship of Russo's character and the police department seems so damn ridiculous to me. It's like she's wearing an honorary sheriff's deputy badge, and could do no wrong. "Oh, you told Crown he's a suspect?? You shouldn't have done that! Okay, well your methods are unorthodox, but all is forgiven, welcome back to the team."
"We photographed you dry humping Crown on the dance floor at a party! You and your unorthodox methods! Ahh well, you're a part of the team, so whatever. Do whatcha' gotta do!"
"Maybe this insurance rep has fallen in love with the prime suspect, and there may be a conflict of interest effecting the department's investigation! Meh, what do I care, it's just a painting that only rich people care about, I don't really give a damn."
As someone who is usually able to just watch a movie and not try to pick at the plot too much, this kept RIPPING me out of the movie's universe.

2. The WHOLE interaction with the ticket agent at the airport in the end is so damn cringe-worthy and completely took me out of the movie yet again.
'Send this briefcase to police headquarters'
'sure thing, you got it! Might not get there til tomorrow.. everything all right?'
'I'm fine'
'ok, the INTERNATIONAL flight escalators is right over there! have a good day!'

Wasn't aware that ticket agents at airports also run a part time post office gig. (maybe they do, I wouldn't know. Never tried. I typically use the USPS, or UPS to send my mail. Never tried United Airlines before. lol)
Also, (I know this is pre-9/11, but..) if someone is looking the way Russo did at the airport, trying to send a package to the POLICE STATION, and leaving the country in the next couple of hours, my instinct would tell me to notify police, or even TSA, not direct them to the *beep* INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT ESCALATORS! seriously, give me a break.

3.Russo is a regular Sherlock Holmes with her ability to figure out who stole the painting in what felt like seconds. Really killed any type of potential tension or mystery on the police investigation side of the story.

4.A Heist movie, with two of the most unexciting heists I've ever seen in film, in my opinion. (Literally, I think the most exciting part was when Crown rolled under the metal barracade before it closed shut). The water paint on the painting in the 2nd heist just didn't wow me at all. Don't even get me started on the museum's inability to notice that there was WATER PAINT over an oil painting. What a joke. Again, I'm not one who nitpicks minor plot points (I thoroughly enjoyed Armageddon lol) but this seemed like amazing, unreal incompetence by the part of the expert museum people.

5. Characters and their interactions just wasn't interesting enough. The chemistry of Brosnan and Russo is okay, but their relationship just didn't feel that deep to me. I enjoy romantic movies, this one just did not feel very romantic. Felt like pure Lust, which is fine, just not emotionally investing as a viewer (again, in my opinion).

For me, this movie is a heist movie devoid of any exciting heists, and a romance devoid of any real romance. It is funny here and there, but it's definitely not funny enough to be considered a comedy, and it's not a terrible film that it can be of the "so bad, it's good" variety.. It's just a very bland, stale, and forgettable movie. One that I would never want to see again.

[–] seventeendollarbill 8 years ago

I've got your back, dude. I think I can iron a few things out for you here but maybe not everything. I'll preface this by telling you something I doubt anybody on this message board has considered: Crown did recon on Banning before this film took place and decided that, as a world-class art thief, he wanted to court this beautiful world-class art theft investigator with whom he had so much in common. I could go into detail about my reason for believing this, but that'd take up too much space. For the sake of expedience, just trust me. :P Here goes...

1) Russo's character is given so much leeway because she was instrumental in breaking the case open. Thomas Crown hired Romanian thieves, a language in which she is fluent, and left a huge paper trail of him buying up all the Monet's recently (info which an art insurance investigator would be more more privy to than a typical detective who couldn't care less about art. She cracked the case in minutes because he made it easy for her. This wasn't a mystery flick, it's a suspense flick about who's going to win, the cat or the mouse. And Crown's mouse had rigged the game from the start. She got away with telling him he's a suspect, and breaking into his house, and sleeping with him because she's not a cop. The cops weren't going to tell her to leave when she was getting all the leads, when she got close to him and found the dogs playing cards painting, and bringing more to the table than any other detective.

2)The ticket agent thing I have no idea about and I'll have to wonder about it some more lol.

3) Addressed in #1

4) It's not really a heist movie in my opinion. It's a suspense movie, cat and mouse. I obviously found the heists more interesting than you did, but regardless I didn't think those alone were enough to consider this a heist movie. The water color thing was explained away pretty thoroughly by pointing out that only one man in the country could've forged that Monet originally, and that man being proud of his daughter's work which was clearly as good as his. And secondly they explained paintings are only determined to be originals by comparing photographs of the borders. That seems like an entirely (and believably) inaccurate process.

I doubt any of this will change your perspective on this movie but I love this movie, so I enjoy talking about it. I still watch it when I get a chance and I still realize new things I never noticed before. I find it both fun and intelligent, and that's a rare thing.

[–] sarizonana 8 years ago

I loveeed your theory of this movie it made me love the film even more than i already did.

It never crossed my mind Thomas had everything planeed to meet Catherine and make the courtship, it makes their relationship better and much more romantic.

I agree with you this is not a heist movie but I don't think its suspense either. Id say its Romance with some touches of action and suspense. A fun cat and mouse game