Review 2: ‘The Saint’
A mysterious thief with a heart of gold, a damsel in distress, the fate of the world lying haphazardly in the mix; yes, it’s pure Hollywood, it’s pure escapism, it’s ‘The Saint.’Val Kilmer plays a thief who is the logical result of cloning Houdini, James Bond, and Robin Hood. Kilmer’s character goes without a name of his own but he does cleverly don the name of Saints as he goes from one complex disguise to another (he does finally chooses Simon Templar as his name of choice). The choice of using Saint’s names is more than just clever on the thief’s part, it ties in to his troubling past which is no doubt developed to make Templar endearing to the audience.The Damsel in distress, played by Elizabeth Shue, Dr. Emma Russell has developed a formula which will save the worlds energy problems. The Saint is hired by shifty resident Russian bad guy Ivan Tretiak to steal the formula. However Cupid foils Templar’s plans which creates the conflict on which the plot revolves’ Templar has to save the girl from himself.Here are the problems: Director Phillip Noyce often taxes our powers of suspension of disbelief as Templar narrowly escapes one near death experience after another. Their is also the whole love issue. Russell saves Templar from his past, while Templar saves her hide. It’s truly amazing how quickly Russell forgets Templar’s lying and manipulations only to fall into his arms whispering ‘I love you’ on demand.When you start explaining ‘The Saint,’ it’s pretty hoaky. But, while you’re in the theater, the movie is completely absorbing.’The Saint’ is fast paced and clever. Kilmer’s facial expressions alone are enough to capture the audiences attention. The villains are evil and amusing in their failures and the damsel, well at least she’s smart (personally I would have liked to see her a little more angry at her situation and a little less accepting.) But, all in all the characters provide what is necessary for our entertainment.
