I watched the 1999 remake during its theater run and had mixed feelings about it. When I saw that the original had the same IMDb rating (unlike for Ocean's Eleven), I got curious. My interest increased upon learning that a re-remake will come out next year.
There's no museum art theft this time, just a typical bank robbery in Boston. Investigator Vicki Anderson (Faye Dunaway) correctly intuits that aristocrat Thomas Crown (Steve McQueen), tho absent from the bank at the time, organized and funded the heist. In her search for compelling evidence that would hold up in court, she gets into an intimate relationship with him, however awkward in light of their mutually recognized rivalry.
No wonder someone thought to cast a James Bond actor in the remake. Crown is quite the arrogant playboy, and not just in bed. But unlike Bond, he does nothing heroic. He doesn't even need the money or give it to the needy; he just robs for kicks. At least Pierce Brosnan's Crown focuses on stealth. McQueen's Crown (heh, appropriate name theme there) has his men hold innocent people at gunpoint and even shoot one, however nonlethally. Nor does he show the same level of cleverness, despite repeatedly guffawing at his own success.
Anderson is also worse herein, resorting to crimes arguably more serious than bank robbery to get leads. She rationalizes that the whole world is corrupt anyway. I couldn't possibly root for Crown, but I sure didn't want her to win for her sake.
While I have gotten more accustomed to stories with unrepentant villain protagonists and injustice, they need something extra to sweeten the deal. The most popular element in TTCA is the opening credits number, "Windmills of Your Mind," which I find distinctive but merely OK. Director Norman Jewison gets highly experimental in the cinematography, not least with split screens, but I can see why nobody copies that style: It doesn't really add anything besides confusion. The pacing across 102 minutes tends to be awfully slow; I often got impatient to understand what was happening, and the answer wasn't worth the wait.
I hope Michael B. Jordan makes a better version. As it stands, I might recommend the second but not the first.
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