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The Saint [1997]


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Not quite Saintly, but close
Review date: 2008-07-29 Rating: 8 out of 10

Let's start at the beginning, if you're expecting a Roger Moore/Ian Ogilvy portrayal of Simon Templar then you're going to be disappointed. If you want James Bond with a halo, you're going to be disappointed. But having said that the movie is not disappointing, but very good.

The film just couldn't be like the old TV series, the world has moved on and the old style cannot be replicated if it wants to appeal to a new audience. Kilmer presents a very different Saint, one that is refreshing and you get the sense that Leslie Charteris' original basis for his hero was drawn upon. Kilmer's international master criminal, master of most, but not all disguises is very entertaining, if somewhat innocent.

Elisabeth Shue provides the love interest, and the two work well together. And the villain too is more fun than ruthless. It seems that they were hoping to kick-start a new franchise with this movie, but it didn't quite capture the public's imagination. And as much as I like Kilmer in the part, it seemed that the audience wasn't ready to accept an American playing a British character.

What let's the film down is that there are one or two set-pieces that are not really necessary. And Templar's recovery from almost freezing to death was a bit lame and silly. That aside, a much better film than the critics of the time would have you believe. Roll on the special edition DVD with the cut sequence of the chandeliar confrontation.

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Reviews


Fair but it's not Bond or even Roger Moore
Review date: 2007-12-23 Rating: 6 out of 10

It is good flick... a racy one too. For people who like action movies too much, it might be a disappointment. But it is worth watching if you like movies that depict face-changing heroes and Val Kilmer. I liked the parts where Simon puts on the funniest faces...they are quite great. Kilmer and Shue put on a great show on screen, the plot is quite nice but the direction seemed a bit weak. i guess the end of the movie where Dr.Russel's cold fusion model works could have been more imaginative, and the Moscow river scene was slightly long. A little editing could have worked wonders with this film but what the hell, it was worth watching.

Fall from grace
Review date: 2006-05-02 Rating: 4 out of 10

This film is a muddled attempt to breath new life into a classic character bogged down by post 1980s attempts at realism. In the post Die Hard/Lethal Weapon world why do all heroes have to have a difficult past? Whatever happened to just having fun in the company of an uncomplicated adventure? Although the film does contain some enjoyable set pieces it's let down by poor characterisation, particularly in the love interest, and a plot that indulges in cod scientific babble. There is some fun to be had from Kilmer's various disguises, but overall this is a misguided attempt to revive Charteris' classic hero with no understanding of what made The Saint, and in particular Roger Moore's TV series, such a success. If you are looking to relive an old character avoid.

A thinking mans James Bond!
Review date: 2004-08-27 Rating: 8 out of 10

Picture the usual Saint format - Rich handsome man, fast car, fighting the evil criminal and always gets the girl. All that is here in Val Kilmers characterisation of the "The Saint" but this time we get to see a little deeper into the character of the man beneath the smooth veneer. The opening scenes begin with a small boy in a seemingly dark and forbidding Catholic orphanage, and you can easily discern from his treatment how he is very much a tortured a soul - nightmares of his childhood haunt him through the plot. Not so much a man brave and fearless, but driven by the pain of his past, the need to try and escape the hurt as well as stay ahead of the game. Add to this a generous sprinkling of state of the art James Bond gadetry, plus the added bonus of witnessing Val Kilmer as a master of disguise - changing both accent and appearance where the need arises and you have an extremely watchable and entertaining film. One of the things that make this a very interesting film is that despite learning a little more about The Saint's life he remains very much an enigma, maybe even to himself, where in one scene he stares long and hard into the mirror running through different accents, perhaps as though even he is asking himself who he really is at times. This constant undercurrent throughout the film is what helps to generate interest and leave the viewer wondering as to who The Saint in fact really is.
Val Kilmer has shown himself to be an extremely fine and versatile actor. I think if the producers want to have another weighty trip to the bank then a sequel to this with Val Kilmer (perhaps to develop the character of The Saint to an even greater extent) wouldnt go amiss. James Bond fans enjoy!

Not So Saintly
Review date: 2003-03-22 Rating: 8 out of 10

This movie is a wonderful piece of escapism, pure and simple and as such, it's a great film.

Although the Simon Templar we see in the film isn't the one we've come to recognise through the literature and other movies, he is still a very likeable character in his own right.

A master of disguise, thief and all round ladies man, Simon Templar takes a job to steal the formula for cold fusion from a professor so that he can retire on the money that he'll make from the job.

All goes well until he meets the professor and finds her to be a young beautiful woman. He falls for her and decides not to steal the formula from her but the person who hired him threatens to kill her if he doesn't complete the job as planned.

So, he takes the formula and from then on he does his best to keep one jump ahead of everyone using high tech equipment and pure good luck as well as trying to stop the cold fusion formula getting into the wrong hands.

Does he get the girl? The ending will not disappoint.

There are three steps to becoming a saint - he may falter along the way but eventually he takes them. Great piece of evening's entertainment after a hard at work when you just want relax.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Henry Goodman
Val Kilmer
Rade Serbedzija
Elisabeth Shue
Valeri Nikolayev

Creators:
Val Kilmer (Primary Contributor)
Elisabeth Shue (Primary Contributor)
David Brown (Producer)
Lis Kern (Producer)
Mace Neufeld (Producer)
Paul Hitchcock (Producer)
Jonathan Hensleigh (Writer)
Leslie Charteris (Writer)
Wesley Strick (Writer)

Director(s):

Recording label: Paramount Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Paramount Home Entertainment
EAN: 5014437803030
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Anamorphic, Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2000-12-04
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 111 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1997-04-04
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: German (Original Language)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: German (Subtitled)
Language: Swedish (Subtitled)
Language: Turkish (Subtitled)
Language: Danish (Subtitled)
Language: Polish (Subtitled)
Language: Icelandic (Subtitled)
Language: Dutch (Subtitled)
Language: Arabic (Subtitled)
Language: Finnish (Subtitled)
Language: Bulgarian (Subtitled)
Language: Czech (Dubbed)
Language: English (Dubbed)

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