At the height of his James Bond run, Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo teamed up with director John McTiernan to deliver a vastly entertaining remake of the Steve McQueen classic, The Thomas Crown Affair.

What the film delivers is a bold, sexy tale. I hadn’t watched this one in years, and I forgot how solid, and beautiful this film was. In a story that centers around art, the movie is one itself.

They also deliver a fun appearance by Faye Dunaway who was in the original film with McQueen.

Brosnan plays Thomas Crown, a very rich playboy whose only joy in life is thrill-seeking, even if it includes high profiles art theft. When he steals a priceless painting from the museum, an insurance investigator is sent in to to work with the NYPD.

Catherine Banning (Rene Russo) is as much a thrill seeker as Crown, and she has him in her sights. She loves the chase as much as he does, and there is an erotic tension between the pair from the get-go. The chemistry the pair share is fantastic.

Banning is working with Detectives McCann (Denis Leary) and Paretti (Frankie Faison). But as things develop between Crown and Banning, where do her allegiances lie?

Gorgeously shot, there are some fantastic sequences in the film. Whether it’s the climax, the catamarans, the gliders, or the stunning locations, it’s a top-tier film, with incredibly sexy leads, and a fun, heist story, with an emotional core.

Having not seen it for years, I didn’t recall all of the sequences, so it was almost like watching it anew. And damn, this is a solid film.

And while I’m sorry about McTiernan’s legal troubles, he was always a solid filmmaker. Even his less stellar entries have some great things about them. Well, maybe not Rollerball.

The Thomas Crown Affair, however, is arguably his most beautiful film.

Featuring a jazzy score by Bill Conti that plays with and adapts Nina Simone’s Sinnerman throughout, The Thomas Crown Affair is one of those remakes that just works. And it rests very easily on the shoulders of Brosnan and Russo.

It’s charming, sexy and it leans into the fantasy of wealth and art. But it’s the heart at its center and the emotional trials the characters go through that are really engaging.

In a world that lacks trust, it’s hard to open up and let people in. And that is the crux of the issue between Thomas and Catherine. With all that is going on, can two people fall in love and be honest with one another?

Damn, this was fun. And both leads look amazingly sexy in this film. The whole thing is a wonderful fantasy, that slowly gets more and more grounded as the characters work to break free of the world they are in.

Definitely worth the (re)watch.