Rating: PG-13 | Runtime: 116 minutes
Release Date: April 4th, 1997 (USA)
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Director(s): Phillip Noyce
Writer(s): Jonathan Hensleigh and Wesley Strick / Jonathan Hensleigh (story) / Leslie Charteris (character)

Take off your pants.

Not only do they cast Tommy Flanagan as a Russian heavy and not give him any lines so his Scottish accent doesn’t come through, but they name his character “Scarface” to differentiate him from “Skinhead” via his real-life scars. Between his casting and Emily Mortimer doing a fake Russian accent, it becomes surprising when actual Russians like Ravil Isyanov (albeit in a very small, early Hollywood role) appear on-screen.

The Saint is a goofy film that never quite leans all the way into its “funny Mission: Impossible” schtick to set itself apart from feeling like a rehash. That’s probably why it was more or less dismissed as a failed attempt to profit off Tom Cruise’s success a year earlier. That both television-to-movie pivots featured an actor from Top Gun is fun, though. Where was Anthony Edwards to complete the trifecta? A missed opportunity.

Val Kilmer and Elisabeth Shue are super cute together. The soundtrack is great (Sneaker Pimps, Everything But the Girl, The Smashing Pumpkins doing The Cars). Rade Serbedzija has never not entertained. And Phillip Noyce proves some movies really weren’t made for critics considering it’s a consistent 60% positive on all fan-forward metrics while Rotten Tomatoes shows a 30%.

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Elisabeth Shue and Val Kilmer in THE SAINT.