As Jeremy Dick of MovieWeb mentions it’s a fair bet that a lot of people these days don’t even remember the 1997 movie The Saint, which starred Val Kilmer and Elisabeth Shue. But it does sound as though the movie is being started back up and is being considered as the first of a series of movies that will follow the titular character throughout a number of adventures. As spy movies go it’s not exactly the same caliber as something like Jame Bond or even Jason Bourne since Kilmer’s character established that he’s a master of disguise and espionage but not much of a fighter as Bourne and Bond were, or are. What he could do however was get into and out of a space with some careful planning and, at times, a bit of good fortune since he’d learned how to maneuver his way around people situations throughout much of his life. The role of Simon Templar is one that invites a good deal of criticism and not much admiration at the moment since Kilmer did receive a Razzie for his performance, despite the fact that the movie was actually fairly enjoyable. In a sense, Kilmer put just enough humor and wit into a movie that could have been extremely dry and not interesting enough to finish had he not been the main actor.
One has to remember that this was still in Val Kilmer’s heyday however and his popularity was still up there among the other stars as it hadn’t plummeted just yet thanks to a series of disastrous movies that didn’t do him any favors. He’s had quite a few hits and misses in his career, but The Saint was one that was right in the comfort zone as it wasn’t horrible but it wasn’t such a blockbuster that it could have elevated his career any further. Bringing in Chris Pine at this moment isn’t such a bad idea since he’s not too far removed from Kilmer in looks and body dimensions and could possibly fit the role of Simon Templar just fine. The only question is, do we really need a reboot of The Saint? The character and his story have been around for longer than a lot of people might realize, decades in fact, but he’s usually failed to inspire as many people as other spy movies have. Back in 1997 the movie was a financial success but it tended to fade from memory pretty quickly and at some point people kind of forgot about it as they moved on to the next big thing on the screen. If the thought is that Chris Pine is going to be enough to bring the story back to prominence then the producers might want to think twice about this and really find a way to pump up the story and make it worthwhile, because as good of an actor as he is, Pine isn’t exactly the type to bring back something that feels as though it should have been left back in the 90s where it was appreciated.
The reboots are definitely reaching at this point and doing so in a manner that is a bit frustrating if only because they’re attempting to continue or rewrite stories that were fine just as they were instead of coming up with something new and possibly exciting. Even continuing said stories would be better than simply gathering them up to see what can be redone and revamped into a product that people might actually pay money for. It is true that reboots have a hit and miss possibility and some of them have done fairly well while pulling in new fans and satisfying old fans at the same time, but it’s still rare enough to see this happen that each new reboot is bound to elicit a groan from some folks. Personally I happened to like the 1997 version but maybe Chris Pine can do something that wasn’t possible a couple of decades ago and bring the movie to the people in a way that will get them to respond in a positive manner, provided he has help. No single actor is enough to pull off a movie, not even Tom Hanks (oh yes, I said it) as many would claim happened in the movie Castaway. He still had a supporting cast if you remember for part of the movie, a basis to work from. For The Saint, Chris Pine definitely needs a solid story and a cast that can back him up and add more depth to the movie so as to make it that much more enjoyable. It is still a little frustrating to see the kind of reliance that people have on reboots to bring them something they either haven’t seen before or something they have seen before in a new way, but to be fair let’s just say that Chris Pine is a worthy actor and it’s a hope that he’ll find a way to make Simon Templar relevant.
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