Then The Saint came in 1997 that they thought would become Mission Impossible level of hype. They gave it crazy budget of 90 millions. And were planning for sequels and franchise. They had big plans on it and Val Kilmer as some Ethan Hunt level of Famous Cool Spy.
I liked Val Kilmer's charisma in that film, but he lacked the action chops to make the movie stand out, and that's really what could have made it timeless.
I do wonder what that film would have been like if they had cast an action star in the role instead? Seems like it would have been an awesome vehicle for Jean-Claude had he not gone off the deep-end on coke, as he could do more serious stuff than the other action stars and looked the part. But his accent definitely would have been a drawback for his disguises.
Jackie Chan would have definitely been able to make the movie feel more energetic and the globetrotting would have fit in well with his uncanny style to make every scenario feel enlivened. But sadly, his acting at the time was extremely limited, and I feel the disguises would have been treated as horrible comedy acts, and he certainly wouldn't have been able to pull off the romance angle as well as Jean-Claude.
The only one I think that actually could have made it work back then is Jean Reno, who could act, and did the action beats well in The Professional just three years prior. Plus he would have had Ronin coming out a year after which could have helped propel him up the international box office totem.
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Cognoscente (2477)
4 months ago
Bruce Willis could have pulled off being The Saint. His performance in The Jackal was like the evil version.
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cyguration (3892)
4 months ago
Bruce Willis was definitely good in The Jackal -- I don't know if he really gave off the spy-vibe, though. He has a bit too much of an everyman vibe about him. It worked in the Jackal because he was supposed to blend in and be unassuming. But he wasn't quite as captivating as Edward Fox in the original Day of the Jackal, who pretty much was everything that I think they wanted out of The Saint remake with Val Kilmer.
Heck, if Fox had just been 20 years younger he would have been perfect for the role.
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emori (3121)
4 months ago
Cruise, Pitt could carry it better. Val was just not leading man. Something was missing from his face to be one.
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cyguration (3892)
4 months ago
I regularly listen to Graeme Revelle's soundtrack for the film, and it has such airy and whimsically idealistic tone to it (especially the theme song and the love theme). I think in that regard, the visuals and the soundtrack would have lent themselves well to Pitt's visual presence on the screen -- almost as if he would be a statuesque muse for the accompanying aesthetics. But I feel it would have been way too charming and not really masculine enough, if that makes sense.
The problem is that Pitt -- at the time -- definitely wouldn't have been right for the role. I feel he was a bit too boyish. And he was quite brusk about being in films where he had to get physical, hence his petulant rants during interviews about his dislike of the violence required of him for Fight Club.
But yeah, I think Cruise carried the more masculine traits for an action role at the time (between him and Pitt). But he was already in Mission Impossible, so it would have made The Saint redundant for him.
Cruise actually might have been able to pull it off, though. His acting still really left something to be desired at the time, and I don't know how well he would have done the whole disguises thing, but I do feel he would have been a lot more adept at the physical requirements in the action parts.
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