The Saint Movie Review 1997

The plot makes about as much sense as that of "Mission: Impossible," the villains are average ego-driven bad guys, and Shue's naive scientist/babe is totally unbelieveable (she's like a deer caught in a car's headlights). The only reason the movie works at all is due to the debonair, if angst-ridden, charms of Kilmer as super-thief and master of disguise Simon Templar. He's hired by Russian strongman Ivan Tretiak (Serbedzija) to steal the formula for cold fusion from scientist Emma Russell (Shue) so that Tretiak can save a freezing Moscow by delivering cheap energy and thus make Russia a formidable power once again (with himself as leader, natch). Only problem is Templar, who names all his alter egos after saints, falls for Emma and tries to get them out of harm's way by double-crossing Tretiak. At least the Moscow and Oxford settings are scenic. Templar's exploits are featured in a series of novels by Leslie Charteris, and previously appeared in earlier movies and on TV.

Distribution

Paramount Home Video, 5555 Melrose Ave., 5555 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90038, Phone: (323)956-5000, URL: http://www.paramount.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 118 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Adventure Drama, The Saint, Moscow, Great Escapes, Not-So-True Identity, Great Britain, Russia/USSR, Spies & Espionage, Science & Scientists

Screenplay

Jonathan Hensleigh, Wesley Strick

Cast

Val Kilmer, Elisabeth Shue, Rade Serbedzija, Valery (Valeri Nikolayev) Nikolaev, Henry Goodman, Alun Armstrong, Michael Byrne, Eugene (Yevgeny) Lazarev, Charlotte Cornwell, Irina Apeximova, Emily Mortimer

Cinematography

Phil Meheux

Director

Phillip Noyce

Music

Graeme Revell

Producer

David Brown, Robert Evans, William J. Macdonald, Mace Neufeld, Robert S. Baker, Paul Hitchcock, Rysher Entertainment, Paramount Pictures