`SAINT' COMMITS THE SIN OF TRYING TO SATISFY EVERYONE.

Byline: Bob Strauss Daily News Film Critic

Every time a hero character with that something extra - yes, we mean Batman - hits it big in movies or TV, Hollywood, in its poignant cluelessness, tries to clone his success with the wrong guy.

Think of the 1960s' ``Green Hornet'' TV series, redeemed only by its introduction of Bruce Lee to the world. More recently, we've seen attempts to revive ``The Shadow'' and ``The Phantom'' crash on the big screen (of course, a ``Hornet'' movie project is being developed, too).

``The Saint'' falls somewhere in between these not-quite-ready for multimedia longevity players and those with the pop culture resonance of a Bat or a Bond. Conceived in the late 1920s by British novelist Leslie Charteris, the sophisticated con man, also known as Simon Templar, cavorted through dozens of books, a bunch of forgettable '40s films and a popular 1960s TV series before falling off the media radar screen.

Now back and totally '90s, with a genuine ex-Batman, Val Kilmer, in the title role, ``The Saint'' certainly comes off as the best recent attempt to revive a played-out hero. Yet, the film never quite kicks the feeling that this character just isn't engaging enough to hold a modern action movie together.

Not that Kilmer doesn't give it a sterling effort. As Templar, he's primarily playing a high-tech thief whose main gift is an ability to fully disguise himself as just about anybody, but whose nagging flaw is a reluctance bordering on inability to face who he really is.

This intriguing, Bruce Wayneish bit of psychology is not exploited for all it could have been in Jonathan Hensleigh and Wesley Strick's script. But Kilmer effectively, if eccentrically, takes up the slack. Employing wigs, not a whole lot of makeup and an astounding facility for accents, the actor provides the movie with its prime fun factor. You never know how he's going to turn up, and then are usually delighted by how cleverly he's transformed himself.

That's different enough from your average, overproduced action flick. But another pleasing aspect of ``The Saint'' is its emphasis on the relationship between Templar and Dr. Emma Russell (``Leaving Las Vegas' '' compulsively watchable Elisabeth Shue). A billionaire Russian energy baron and would-be future Czar (Rade Serbedzija, from the Macedonian film ``Before the Rain'') hires Templar to snatch Russell's formula for cold fusion. But, while seducing the unworldly super scientist, the Saint falls in love, too.

What that leads to is lots of hand-in-hand running around snow-covered Moscow locations, while the bad guy's army of well-dressed thugs tries to kill the two Westerners. All this chase stuff is staged adequately enough by director Phillip Noyce, an old hand at Tom Clancy thrillers (``Patriot Games,'' ``Clear and Present Danger''). But the best parts of the movie come when the action grinds to a halt so Templar and Russell can indulge their mutual attraction. Since Kilmer and Shue are two of the most appealing actors working in movies today, it's no surprise that these emotional, leisurely playful scenes are a joy to behold.

But they never comfortably mesh with the outlandish pulp plot that keeps erupting around them. ``The Saint's'' smorgasbord of pleasures tends to make the movie something of a mess. It's also trying to satisfy both up-to-the-minute and old-fashioned entertainment values; a commendable goal, but a strategy that can work against itself if not developed with utter assurance.

The fact that the film's ending was recently changed is the most blatant indication that such confidence was lacking. But then, the basic premise - suave mercenary is, not so deep down, a sentimental sweetheart - just may not be a strong enough hook to make a pop sensation, especially at a time when the Jedi has just returned so spectacularly.

THE FACTS

The film: ``The Saint'' (PG-13; violence, sex).

The stars: Val Kilmer, Elisabeth Shue, Rade Serbedzija, Valery Nikolaev.

Behind the scenes: Directed by Phillip Noyce. Written by Jonathan Hensleigh and Wesley Strick, based on the character created by Leslie Charteris. Produced by David Brown, Robert Evans, William J. Macdonald and Mace Neufeld. Released by Paramount Pictures.

Running time: One hour, 55 minutes.

Playing: Citywide.

Our rating: Three Stars.

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Photo

Photo: Dr. Emma Russell (Elisabeth Shue) and Simon Templar (Val Kilmer) find love in the midst of danger in ``The Saint.''