The Saint 4K
Limited Edition Steelbook review by Bobby Blakey
Throughout the late Val Kilmer’s career he took on a wide variety of roles in every genre with some pretty iconic including Iceman in Top Gun and as the caped Crusader in Batman Forever. In 1997 he took on the spy world with a feature film of The Saint based on the novels by Leslie Charteris which most know also from the Roger Moore led TV series from 1962-1969. Alongside Kilmer in the role of Simon Templar, the film stars Elisabeth Shue, Rade Šerbedžija, Valeriy Nikolaev, Henry Goodman, Alun Armostrong, Tommy Flanagan and Emily Mortimer from Dead Calm, Clear and Present Danger, Patriot Games, and Sliver director Phillip Noyce. Now the film is making its way onto 4K, but is it a crime worth committing or will we see through its disguise?
The Saint follows Simon Templar has no real family or home, and Simon Templar isn't even his real name. Slick, debonair, and a master of disguise, Simon manages to outwit the police again and again. On his next job, he is hired by the Russian Mafia to steal a cold fusion energy formula from scientist Emma Russel. However, the mission backfires as he falls for the pretty, intelligent scientist. Simon and his new love must now manage to outwit the
Russian Mafia and work out the energy formula before the worst happens, and the U.S. is affected forever.
Going into this film I realize not only had I not seen it since it came out, I don’t think I ever watched the whole thing. The film was meant to kick start a franchise and while did well enough just never took off which is a shame as I would have enjoyed seeing Kilmer in this role more. The film has its flaws but it all hinges on Kilmer who is great in the role and the reason it works at all.
The tone is like that of the original Mission Impossible film before it became the stunt spectacular it is today. That’s not a dig as it is more compelling when they let the story push it with its twists and turns as opposed to just the action. The film works as a good back story of Templar while allowing him to remain a mystery most of the time. The ongoing disquises are fun to watch even though it is always clear its still Kilmer. He brings the needed charm and swagger to the role for you to root for him despite him not being all that great of a person at times.
The supporting cast are fine with Shue bringing and awkward yet confident persona to her character. They have great chemistry, but the on and off again aspect of their fake and real budding romance gets tired at times. There are a lot of moments as well where she seems to just forget what he did to her and accept it and move on which leaves so much baggage on the table but does lend to a fitting end for them in the final act.
The action is fine and the twists are decent enough even though you can see them coming. It is a serviceable story and idea that had a lot of room to breath and build an entire franchise around Templar, but alas it wasn’t to be.
The film’s first-time release to 4K is a great chance for Kilmer fans old and new to check out the film as it was meant to be seen and remember the legacy of a Hollywood icon at home in his element. Grab your copy of The Saint when it hits Limited Edition 4K Steelbook on August 25th from Paramount Home Entertainment.