“The Saint – The Man Without a Name” should be the starting gun for a major cinema franchise in the style of the James Bond adventures. In Val Kilmer (“Top Gun 1+2”) they had a charismatic, versatile star and in “The Cartel” creator Phillip Noyce an experienced action director, who delivered a fairly respectable film, if not a masterpiece. Nevertheless, it failed at the US box office and the well-thought-out plans for a slew of sequels faded into thin air…
“The Saint – The Man Without a Name” will be broadcast on ZDF Neo on May 13, 2023 at 8:15 p.m. The channel offers a repeat at 04:05 that same evening. If these dates don’t suit you, you can catch up on the thriller at any time as part of your Paramount+ streaming subscription. Alternatively, the FSK 12 title is available from online retailers such as Amazon as Blu-ray/DVD or paid video-on-demand:
“The Saint” on ZDF Neo: that’s the story
Raised in an orphanage, Simon Templar aka “The Saint” (Val Kilmer) is a master thief who steals everything for the right price. His latest task is to steal her revolutionary cold fusion method from nuclear physicist Emma Russell (Elisabeth Shue) – which he succeeds in a torrid love night.
During the action, however, Templar develops feelings for the equally attractive and intelligent scientist. He also realizes that the formula may not be allowed to fall into the hands of Russian politician and serious criminal Ivan Tretiak (Rade Šerbedžija), his client. Before he knows it, Templar and Emma are at the top of the mobster’s hit list…
Should that be “Simon Templar”?
It was the mid-1990s and Paramont Pictures—one of Hollywood’s largest traditional studios, after all—was getting nervous. Because MGM’s competition had just scored a big hit with new James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan and his first 007 adventure “GoldenEye”. You yourself, on the other hand, had to accept a major setback: superstar Harrison Ford had stated that after “The Hour of the Patriots” and “The Cartel” he would no longer be available as CIA agent Jack Ryan. The blockbuster series based on the spy novels by bestselling author Tom Clancy was – at least for now – dead.
Looking for a new blockbuster with sequel potential, they came across the 1960s TV series The Saint – at the time starring ex-James Bond Roger Moore. The series, called Simon Templar in Germany, about a British playboy who – always accompanied by beautiful women – mainly acts as a master thief in Robin Hood acts, but also as a detective, seemed made for a film adaptation. Moreover, with its 118 episodes, the whole offered itself as an almost inexhaustible source of nourishment for a multitude of sequels.
While the thriller has its strengths, such as the title character’s hilarious disguises, fast pace, and cleverly constructed suspense, screenwriter Jonathan Hensleigh (“Armageddon,” “Die Hard 3”) ultimately made far too little use of the lavish source material. . Apart from the main character’s name, she was barely recognizable. And also the scenario in which she moved was a completely different scenario. The paying audience stayed away from the cinema halls and unfortunately the opportunity was missed. Let’s hope that Regé-Jean Page, who has been trying again for a few years, is smarter about this.
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