The Saint (1997)

There are many films you could choose to watch if you're in the mood to remember the great talent of the late Val Kilmer, who we lost just a couple of weeks ago, but I decided to finally watch The Saint. Having not given it much thought throughout the decades since it was released, I picked up a digital copy of the movie ages ago for less than the price of a cup of coffee. Now seemed as good a time as any to finally get around to watching it. 

Kilmer is the titular character, AKA Simon Templar AKA a variety of false names always referencing saints. He's a master thief, as well as a master of disguise, and aiming to hit the magic number of $50M in his bank account to afford him a relaxing life of retirement. That's why he takes on a lucrative job that requires him to steal the ground-breaking work of Dr. Emma Russell (Elisabeth Shue) and help a powerful Russian (Ivan Tretiak, played by Rade Serbedzija) monopolise the modern miracle of cold fusion. Things are complicated by pesky feelings though, and it becomes clear that Mr. Templar will struggle to get to the end of this particular adventure with his halo intact.

There's some talent here, certainly when it comes to the people behind the camera. Writers Jonathan Hensleigh and Wesley Strick have been responsible for a wide variety of films that, whether good or bad, have often been interesting, at the very least. Director Phillip Noyce can do tension and intelligent thrillers, and was coming off a great run of features helmed between the late '80s to the mid-1990s, but none of his skill is on display here. It's obvious that the script isn't strong - it's muddled, lacking action, and even fails to make Templar appealing beyond the natural charm of Kilmer - but very disappointing that Noyce couldn't figure out how to create something that would be able to distract us from that big problem.

Kilmer cannot carry the film alone though, but he's forced to. As much as I enjoy her work, Shue is not served well by having to portray someone smart enough to turn the theory of cold fusion into a reality, yet also silly enough to be taken in by Templar in one or two of his more ridiculous disguises. She needs to be both the valuable "asset" and the standard love interest, although I will admit that it was a pleasant surprise to see a third act in which Kilmer's character only survives thanks to her assistance. Serbedzija is stuck playing a dull villain, in line with the dullness of almost everything else in the movie (from the visuals to the other characters), Valeriy Nikolaev gets to have a bit more fun as the angry son/henchman, and Alun Armstrong, Tommy Flanagan, and Emily Mortimer all appear onscreen just long enough to look slightly embarrassed about being there.

There's a decent score from Graeme Revell, although even that pales in comparison to a soundtrack that includes tracks from Sneaker Pimps, The Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk, David Bowie, and Orbital (delivering a superb reworking of the familiar theme tune), and a couple of nice moments just before the end credits roll that will leave you wishing that the rest of the film played more into the iconography of the character. That's all I can compliment though, aside from Kilmer. 

3/10

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Prime Time: Gladiator (2000)

It all seems so obviously destined for success now. An action epic directed by Ridley Scott. A lead role for Russell Crowe. Joaquin Phoenix as the second main character. Support from the likes of Connie Nielsen, Djimon Hounsou, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris, and Derek Jacobi, as well as numerous other familiar faces. Fantastic practical effects enhanced by some top-notch CGI. Gladiator was a huge success when it was released, but it's worth remembering that it was actually considered quite a gamble, especially because the "sword and sandals" movie seemed to be a thing of the past (or, more accurately, a thing now just used to fill up the schedule on the SyFy Channel).

But it's hard to find people who hate it, and, while it may not be a film that many have rushed to revisit in recent years, it's been able to retain a place in our collective consciousness thanks to some memorable lines of dialogue and a rich and full-bodied Hans Zimmer score.

Crowe is Maximus, a successful military man who does his best in the service of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), but his situation changes drastically when the Emperor dies, to be succeeded by his son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix). His life ruined, although somehow not ended, Maximus ends up enslaved, which leads him to be pitted against others in fighting competitions. Showing a knack for combat tactics, as well as self-preservation, Maximus is soon on his way to becoming a bit of a celebrity on the gladiator world, a violent system that could lead to his freedom. Maybe he doesn't need his freedom though. Maybe he just wants another chance to be within sword-slashing distance of Commodus.

Starting with a grand battle scene before moving into a series of more personal fights, Gladiator is a genuine crowd-pleaser that works all the better for having no trace of concern about the whole thing being a mish-mash of familiar elements and top-quality ham. The fact is that everyone commits to their roles, as well as to the tone of the material, and they enjoy the ham with such lip-smacking relish that it becomes absolutely glorious. The script, written by David Franzoni, John Logan, and William Nicholson, helps with a good selection of great lines of dialogue, and Scott does all he can to ensure that the 155-minute runtime practically passes by like a light breeze through the fields of Elysium.

Crowe has rarely been better, giving a performance that puts his character in strong contention for a place in the cinematic heroes hall of fame, and I would say something similar about Phoenix, especially when we all know that a good hero needs a good villain to make the whole thing worthwhile. Harris is effective in his brief supporting turn, Oliver Reed livens up a character, a trader/gladiator trainer named Proximo, that could easily have been left to fade into the background, and Djimon Hounsou is one of two other main gladiators onscreen that we get to stay invested in throughout. Connie Nielsen has to repeat lines about living in fear a bit too often, but she also does well enough to be memorable in her role (Lucilla, sister of Commodus), and Derek Jacobi, David Schofield, John Shrapnel, Tomas Arana, David Hemmings, and Tommy Flanagan are all uniformly excellent in their respective roles.

Brilliantly bombastic, full of spectacle without feeling overstuffed or overdone, and reworking the essence of classic epics into something that somehow feels both comfortingly old-fashioned and enjoyably updated, Gladiator is superior blockbuster fare. And if you are watching it with anyone who hasn't seen it before then you get the added pleasure of jumping up while the end credits roll and shouting "are you not entertained?"

9/10

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Mubi Monday: Ratcatcher (1999)

Having seen three other features from Lynne Ramsay, and not being at all disappointed by any of them (although it took me a rewatch of We Need To Talk About Kevin to fully appreciate), I was excited to finally watch this one, her feature debut.

Set in 1970s Glasgow, Ratcatcher allows us to tag along with a young boy named James (William Eadie). There are piles of physical rubbish stacking up around the estate he lives on, due to a strike by the refuse collectors, and piles of psychological litter starting to weigh more and more heavily on his mind. Sometimes seeming comfortable in the company of others close to his age, sometimes seeming to want to get as far away from everyone as possible, James interacts with, and learns from, a variety of characters, from his parents (a father who likes to drink a lot, played by Tommy Flanagan, and a mother trying to do her best for the family, played by Mandy Matthews) to a teenage lass named Margaret Anne (Leanne Mullen).

Ramsay has a way of making her films look interesting and muddily beautiful, even while characters are being thoroughly dragged through the mud. I think this comes from her unwavering ability to always ground her characters in a world that is either seriously affecting them or being seriously affected by them. There's almost a symbiotic relationship between the characters she creates and the reality she puts them in. Here we get those piles of rubbish, we get a lot of shots alongside a canal, and we get homes that aren't very well looked after. Sometimes these environments are playgrounds for James, sometimes they're much worse. You don't need to put bars on the windows to imprison people who are already so unable to climb a ladder weighted down by their place in society, their family, and who they befriend during their childhood years.

Eadie, in his only feature performance (to date), is very good. He's natural and realistic onscreen, keeping a lot of things hidden below the surface, as every young boy does. Mullen is equally good, her character being someone who is trying to navigate safely through a world of boys that she has already found can be easily placated when they're thinking about sex. Flanagan and Matthews are important, as parents (good or bad) always are, and they cast shadows over a number of scenes, despite their actual screentime being relatively limited. I'll also mention young John Miller, who plays a boy named Kenny. Kenny is the most childish character shown here, and easily led astray (which reminds James of how easily his path could change), and Miller is a good fit for the role.

You might be upset by the scenes that involve rodents, and you definitely need to be in the right mood to take in the fairly dour tone (although there IS lightness and humour here and there, in small amounts), but you should definitely check this out. As you should check out every film from Ramsay, who is arguably the best female writer-director working today, and far too often forgotten in conversations that cover the very few names that people tend to remember ahead of her. Watch this movie, watch all of her movies, and start bringing her up in more film conversations.

8/10

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