The Saint (1997)

the audience applauded

Please don't spend money on this.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

The Saint did not take off as a franchise - but the film is a bit better than its rating might suggest.Part of the problem is that it has predecessors: adventure books from the 20s through 80s, a 60s TV series with Roger Moore that many people liked, and so forth. This film does not live up to the style of the books or the TV incarnation, and that may be part of the reason for its low rating. As a stand-alone action spy thriller, it's quite entertaining, with the obligatory plot holes pulling it down from a really high score, but fun to watch nonetheless.Val Kilmer plays The Saint, who witnessed the death of another youngster at a cruel religious orphanage when he escaped. Two decades later, The Saint is an internationally active go-to man for difficult jobs, like stealing a microchip from a Russian industrial magnate. That he does, and soon the plot evolves into a chase for a cold fusion formula. The formula was only half worked out by smart and beautiful physicist Emma (Elizabeth Shue) when Kilmer steals it. The film then takes some improbable turns to get the main characters near the clutches of the evil industrial magnate, who wants to use the non-functional formula to discredit Russia's elected president during an energy crisis. At the last minute, with the aid of a Russian scientist, the good guys get the formula to work, and in the epilogue The Saint manages yet again to evade British police.The Saint evades everyone with elaborate disguises, which make the movie fun to watch. Kilmer demonstrated that he can really act, although he's not quite a Peter Sellers when it comes to playing a bundle of different characters. The chemistry (or should I say, physics) between Shue and Kilmer is great, so the romantic entanglements in this action thriller also hold up.The movie well reflects the hopes for détente and democratization in Russia held in the West in the 90s, and now soundly dashed by the interminable Putkin regime. The energy crisis theme rings truer and truer with passing years.Occasionally the film moves slowly, and there are unnecessary plot holes that could have been fixed quite easily with better scripting, but none of these minor problems detract from the jolly good 100 minutes of fun that The Saint brings to the screen. I've seen it a couple of times, and like good James Bond flicks (Thunderball et al.), it can be enjoyed more than once.

A movie based on the British TV-series, The Saint, Val Kilmer plays Simon Templar, known as the Saint for his use of Catholic saints pseudonyms, and is a masterful thieve. Simon is hired by the Russian Mafia to steal a cold fusion energy formula from Dr. Emma Russell (Elizabeth Shue), but Simon falls for her during the process. As a result, Simon and Dr. Russell must escape the Russian Mafia and work out the energy formula before total chaos happen.This film is filled with good old fashion thrills and mystery, keeping the film suspenseful. The acting was particular good and I enjoyed watching the touching chemistry between Simon and Dr. Russell. Simon's multiple personality transformations are interesting to watch, and him alluding the dangers in his mission is intriguing.The film's entertainment relies on the mystery and suspense rather than the over-the-top non-stop gun violence and excessive knuckle-crunching brawls, which makes this an unique action-adventure.Grade B

The Saint is a pleasantly surprising film. A lot different from the Roger Moore TV series, it sort of follows the Brosnan Bonds in being a stylish actioner with a slightly absurd plot. Yet it's a very entertaining film with many great things about it. The plot involves Simon Templar who is a master a thief, being able to outsmart the law with unique disguises and accents. He is hired by the Russian Mafia to steal a formula for cold fusion energy from scientist Emma Russell. But Russell intelligence and beauty makes Templar begin to develop feelings for her that he can't walk away from. He decides to help her and must work out the formula before the Russians do. Though the plot is a bit silly, it is actually pretty smart in many places and it never becomes boring. As said it works like one of the more far-fetched Bond films in that it is rather suspect but it doesn't really matter because it is so entertaining, whilst the romantic side keeps things nicely grounded.The cast is impressive. Val Kilmer is terrific as Templar managing to play the smart spy who finds his softer side and he has the charisma to carry it off. Kilmer does a brilliant job at doing different accents and changing appearance too. Elisabeth Shue is excellent as Emma Russell, making her likable and tough but with complexity and issues. Rade Serbedzija makes an effect villain as the slimy and power hungry Tretiak. Valeriy Nikolaev was a little dull as his son, but still believable and did well in the action set pieces. The British veteran Michael Byrne was fantastic as always as Tretiak's adviser. Both Alun Armstrong and Charlotte Cornwell did solid jobs as inspectors on Templar's trail. Though the plot is iffy, nearly everything else is done quite competently. The visual tone that the film goes for is very stylish, the scenes of Russia and Britain look fantastic. The action scenes are also done in a great way, though it doesn't happen too often when it does it is nicely effective. The music is simply superb, the score by Graeme Revell has a cool action tone to it but is also very beautiful, the main theme and 'Love Theme' are both superb. The use of more contemporary music at times was also a smart decision. The most effective thing about the film is the relationship between Templar and Russell. Val Kilmer and Elisabeth Shue have amazing chemistry as a lot of the time you can easily forget they are acting it's so natural. This side of the story helps make it far more interesting that your average action film because you actually care about what these people go through. It's also nice that there's not an overload of action, as the film does a good job of letting the drama tell the story. Overall The Saint offers a refreshing balance of drama, action and character development.

This movie was horrendous. The plot was pathetic and non-original and the acting was painful to watch. As a matter of fact, I did not realize this was even Val Kilmer, that is how horrible it was.After we finished watching this atrocity, I looked it up on IMDb because I wanted to know who the actress was; she was just so unbearable and unable to perform her lines in a believable manner, I was convinced she was some 'unknown' that they got for cheap to go along with this low budget, below B movie. I was shocked to find out it was Elizabeth Shue...who, in my opinion, still cannot act her way out of a cracker jack box This movie was horrible. Painfully, banefully horrible! It should be burned from all archives and never spoken of again.I'd have given it a -10 (negative) if it would have been allowable...wouldn't even let me rate it a 0. It doesn't even deserve a 1. It was just that pathetic. If you value your eyes, ears and stomach...don't watch this thing