The Saint (1997)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Phillip Noyce

Writers (WGA):

Leslie Charteris (character)
Jonathan Hensleigh (story)

Release Date:

4 April 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Romance | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Cunning. Devious. Dangerous. Treacherous.

Plot:

Simon Templar has no real family, no real home and Simon Templar isn't even his real name. Yet Simon Templar ...

Plot Keywords:

Fusion | The Saint | Disguise | Energy | Thief

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Val Kilmer	...	Simon Templar
Elisabeth Shue	...	Dr. Emma Russell
Rade Serbedzija	...	Ivan Tretiak
Valeri Nikolayev	...	Ilya Tretiak (as Valery Nikolaev)
Henry Goodman	...	Dr. Lev Botvin
Alun Armstrong	...	Inspector Teal
Michael Byrne	...	Vereshagin, Tretiak's Aide
Yevgeni Lazarev	...	President Karpov (as Evgeny Lazarev)
Irina Apeksimova	...	Frankie (as Irina Apeximova)
Lev Prygunov	...	General Sklarov (as Lev Prigunov)
Charlotte Cornwell	...	Inspector Rabineau
Emily Mortimer	...	Woman on Plane
Lucija Serbedzija	...	Russian Prostitute
Velibor Topic	...	Skinhead
Tommy Flanagan	...	Scarface

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for action violence, brief strong language, some sensuality and drug content.

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Color (Rankcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 | Ireland:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Foreign Affairs Ministry building, Moscow, Russia

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The poetry written by Simon Templar's long-haired artist character, Thomas Moore, was actually written by Val Kilmer himself.

Goofs:

Continuity: While fleeing "Tretiak's goons" on the rooftop of the apartment building, Simon is wearing a black hat. When he follows Emma through the roof access, the hat has disappeared and his hair is perfectly styled.

Quotes:

Simon Templar: Allow me to introduce myself. My name is August Christopher. I was named for St. Augustan, who coined my favorite phrase, 'Give me chastity and give me constancy, but do not give it yet.'

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight - Batman Unbound (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

Da Funk

Pleasantly surprised

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.