samantha (10 out of 10 ) This is an excellent movie.
harry georgatos (2 out of 10 ) The script by Jonathan Hensleigh to "The Saint" is a good adaptation of the tv series for a modern day audience. My only problem was the backstory at the opening in the orphanage with a young Simon Templar. The one thing with the author and creator of the original novels was that we knew nothing about Simon Templar's origins. This added mystery to "The Saints" character. By giving us this backstory in the orphanage takes away some of that mystery. Still the script is a good update. How director Philip Noyce stuffed up the movie is beyond my understanding. At times the romantic relationship between "The Saint" and the scientist bogs the narrative momentum to a grinding stop. The audience becomes restless hoping for something to happen. The film needed a huge action set-piece to ignite excitement in the movie. One of the reasons why this movie didn't perform at the box office was because it wasn't the action blockbuster people were hoping for. Noyce's direction could have been a few notches higher in the excitement stakes, like his two impressive Tom Clancy movies. Another reason why the film underperformed was because of the uninspired casting of Val Kilmer. His performance borders on the bizarre. An english actor should have been cast in the pivotal role of Simon Templar. If not an english actor maybe a young George Clooney? This has to rate as a mistake by Phil Noyce on a creative level in not giving the audience in what they wanted from the film. If the film delivered in what audience wanted then it would have became another franchise for Paramount Pictures. It would have imitated the box office success of "Mission:Impossible" for the Paramount. There's no reason why "The Saint" can't be remade once again. There were numerous "The Saint" movies throughout the 40's, starring George Sanders, so there's no reason to stop the continuation of the franchise with Val Kilmer's weird take on the character that puzzled audiences around the world.
pilgrim (5 out of 10 ) Is this the original Jonathan Hensleigh script or the rewrite that val kilmer had done once he came on board?