Il santo

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.

As I'm not someone who is very familiar with the television show I'm guessing that it was a plus. The film was a complete entity without having to rely on the show of the same name.

The film itself was brilliant, granted as a Val Kilmer fan you could say that I might have been biased but not very often. There are a lot of his films I don't like. Anyway, it had a nice story with plenty of twists and turns. It was obvious from the moment he met Dr Russell that he would fall in love with her, although there was a bit too much kissing and sloppy stuff.

The best thing about the film I think was the many characters Val managed to do. He seems to be able to do so many, and not just in The Saint.. another one would be Tombstone. The man is a genius, in a league of his own.

Just a word of advice to anyone who's going to see it, don't go in there expecting it to be like the television show because you'll be disappointed.

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!

I love this movie. As a movie buff, I must admit, objectively, this is a bad movie. The writing is ridiculous, the plot is convoluted, and Val Kilmer's accents are bizarre. But I love this movie. It is that wonderful combination of danger and romance that makes for great fantasy. The chemistry between Kilmer and Shue holds this movie together. It is a delight to watch them realize that their skin deep attraction goes much deeper. If you can suspend your disbelief and just enjoy the ride, the Saint is a fun movie. Despite its flaws, the Saint is a guilty pleasure to indulge in when your own life is lacking in explosions, gun fights, and sudden, passionate romances.

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.