Il santo

I just finished watching the Saint again, it's the sort of movie you remember seeing a few years back and when you get home after a long day at work your glad it's being re-run on TV. The plot is nothing stunning but neither is it entirely unbelievable. Simon Templar (Val Kilmer) is a big time con-artist/thief who operates to further his own financial position, charm some very attractive ladies and buy himself a Volvo that actually looks good. An ambitious Russian oil magnate hires him to steal a formula off a gorgeous nuclear physicist. They fall in love and Templar turns from thief into hero. I don't think this movie claims to be anything life-changing but it's good fun if taken lightly. Kilmer has a good turn as Templar and his various disguises and pranks along with some bungling by a few hapless Scotland Yard detectives provide a few laughs. The action is great fun and backed by the Chemical Brothers and Underworld. The romance between Elisabeth Shue's character and Kilmer's isn't bad either, they're both convincing in their own way and there are some nice moments for sentimental folk like me. The Saint is perfect for a quiet night with the boys, beers and some gawking at Elisabeth Shue, it's bad not to watch with that someone special either.

Cheers

Tim

Maybe my expectations were too low going in after reading a slue of terrible reviews, but I thought it was a good solid movie and very entertaining. Val Kilmer was great in his disguises and rolls. Elisabeth Shue was attractive as ever and played her part well. The movie kept on a continual pace, and kept the action and suspense throughout. There were a few things I thought were lame and it got a little unrealistic at times, but all in all it was a good solid movie. Maybe even a good action / romance date movie. If you haven't seen it (as I hadn't until today), give it a try. It has action, suspense, romance, and a little comedy thrown in for good measure. It runs in at just about 2 hours long, so long enough to get a good plot, some twists & turns and yet not bore you. There will always be people that pick plot holes in movies and just love proving that it's road kill. If you're one of those people, maybe you should stay away, but if you want a good entertaining popcorn movie it's worth a watch.

The Saint has been criticised vociferously since its release in 1997. In some reviews, it has even been likened to The Avengers as one of the most misguided movies of all-time. However, I genuinely cannot see why this film has aroused so much dismay among the cinema going public. As far as I'm concerned, this is an accomplished, rousing and satisfyingly complex espionage thriller.

The plot finds a master of disguise/super-thief, Simon Templar (Kilmer), being hired to track down and steal a brilliant energy-saving formula. The formula was invented by a female science student at Oxford University (Shue), and when Templar eventually closes in on her, he finds himself falling in love with her. Oh yes, then there's the small problem of the swarm of Russian agents who also want the formula....

Kilmer is OK as Templar, but the character was better portrayed in previous incarnations by Ian Ogilvy and Roger Moore. Shue, as the science whiz, actually manages to just about get away with the fact that she is essentially miscast. The action scenes in the film are well done, but this is no surprise since the director Phillip Noyce is a dab hand at this kind of thing thanks to his work on a couple of the Jack Ryan movies, not to mention the unbearably taut Dead Calm.

If you've never seen The Saint, I would encourage you to do so. If you've intentionally avoided the film because of the negative reviews you may have read, ignore them! This is huge fun!

If you expect 'The Saint' to resemble the TV series with Roger Moore, or going further back, the films with George Sanders or Tom Conway, you're in for a disappointment. Like 'Mission Impossible' (the movie), it bears no such resemblance to previous 'Saint' films.

On the other hand, it's an interesting espionage tale with the usual heroics and mixes of suspense and humor when Kilmer changes his identity to suit his purpose. Plenty of action thrills along the way as The Saint manages to outwit and outsmart the villains at every turn. Seems he's needed to infiltrate a top-secret organization bent on stealing a scientific formula that could change the world.

Val Kilmer makes the perfect action hero in this surprisingly entertaining movie that was not given as much hype as it deserved upon release. His performance alone is reason enough to watch this clever spy film that mixes thrills with a dash of humor.

I liked this movie. Not as "The Saint" but as an elaborate action movie with a twist. Val Kilmer bears nothing in him that even gets close to Roger Moore's character - but if you look away from that and try to see it as an ordinary film, it's really good.

First of all, Val Kilmer performs fairly well, despite his weird accents. I really liked his artist type guy who seduces Emma Russell, he was great fun.

As for the story, well...I didn't bother to check for anomalies, I knew I'd find plenty. I only have two more things to say:

1. Elisabeth Shue is absolutely stunningly beautiful in this film.

2. The cool car that we only get to see a few seconds is a Volvo C70, a worthy replacement for the Volvo P1800 that Moore's Saint drove around in.