The Saint (1997)

Written by Kamurai on July 21, 2020

Good watch, would watch again, and can't confidently recommend.

This movie is definitely dated. Val Kilmer was still riding on "I was Batman" and a bunch of Hollywood actors had decided to have a go at being the next action (/spy) guy, and I think it was to try to knock Tom Cruise out of his position (like that worked).

This international spy of mysterious origin, even with an entire backstory as a prelude in the beginning of the movie, just so happens to be targeting "cold fusion", so we get a sci-fi edge.

The person that happens to make the most plausible progress on cold fusion just happens to be a "stunningly beautiful woman", Elisabeth Shue, with a heart condition to top everything off.

The actual movie experience was good, I promise, but thinking back on things, it all sounds so ridiculous. There is a lot of underlying romantic comedy at play here, and if I'm honest, I don't think they movie knew what it wanted to be: mob movie, sci-fi discovery, rom com, action / spy, political intrigue, catholic revolution, or orphan identity.

Most of the fun stuff is spy versus Russian mob or cute rom com stuff, but you could probably get a better experience for either in different movies.

It's a good time, but given all the options out there, you're probably better off looking for a more modern spy movie.