THE SAINT (1997) A film review by Nick Schaden Copyright 1997 Nick Schaden
After watching both "Mission Impossible" and "The Saint" the similarities are striking. Both are Paramount films, both are action/adventure/thriller movies, both have an overrated sex symbol as the main character, both were taken from TV to the movie scene, and both were hyped as "blockbusters" before release. Sadly, the difference in quality is also striking. "Mission Impossible" was an enjoyable movie to watch, while "The Saint" is an easily forgettable dud.
Problems with "The Saint" emerge barely out of the starting gate. Instead of throwing the audience headlong into the main plot as most good action/adventure movies do, director Phillip Noyce instead dwells in a yawner of an introduction to Simon Templar's (Val Kilmer) childhood.
This example nails the largest problem with "The Saint" - the plot. In essence, the movie tries to pull itself in too many directions at once. It has action, romance, drama, and adventure - all with unsatisfactory results. First, what should have been the greatest strength of "The Saint" turns into its biggest fault, the action/adventure. Most scenes tended to lack intensity and tension, never once did I feel Val Kilmer's character was ever in severe danger. Further dissolving what's left of the movie's plot is casting Elisabeth Shue as Dr. Emma Russell (the brains behind creating cold fusion, a currently impossible task), while Shue's beauty glows throughout the film she is hardly convincing. Finally, what really blows this movie out of the water is the incredibly weak motivation for our hero's character. Simon Templar is essentially a high tech mercenary/thief that works for almost anyone for a price. Why does Simon do it? Incredibly lame comments like "I've always broken out of things" and flashbacks to Simon's horrific Catholic childhood attempt to fit the pieces together with little comprehensible fashion.
After "The Saint"'s largely predictable ending, I'm praying Paramount doesn't have the balls to release a sequel. Even with other passable elements, the movie's horrible plot destroys any hope "The Saint" had of getting off the ground.
Nick's Rating: -3
*** Movies rated from -4 (worst) to +4 (best), 0 = average movie ***
-- Nick Schaden Send your comments to: cpunut@uslink.net Check out all of Nick's reviews at: http://uslink.net/~cpunut/movies.html
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