Samaritan (2022) Movie Review

Synopsis:

Sam Cleary (Javon Walton) suspects his neighbor Mr Smith (Sylvester Stallone) to be the former superhero, Samaritan. With Granite City plunged into chaos, Sam hopes for Samaritan’s return to bring peace back to the city.

Review:

With Rocky and Rambo under his belt, Sylvester Stallone decided to explore the world of super-powered beings.

As a film, Samaritan has some unique ideas, though most leave little impact. This is due to the film’s simplistic storytelling and dialogue approach.

Upon watching its trailer, viewers would assume Stallone was the central focus.

His appearance is welcome, with a few action sequences and words of wisdom. Thirteen-year-old Sam Cleary, though, has more screen time.

Having a focus on Javon Walton’s character wouldn’t have been an issue if the actor’s performance was at least convincing.

A similar issue applies to most of Samaritan’s performances. These lack any memorable qualities beyond their established roles.

This also applies to Samaritan’s main antagonist, Cyrus (Pilou Asbæk).

He lacks a defining trait that would have made him a viable threat. In the film, Cyrus does show occasional scenes of menace.

Aside from that, there isn’t much substance to this character. One area where Samaritan finds its footing is in the action sequences.

While they are minimal, there is a good sense of impact with each hit.

This reinforces the superhuman aspect. A disadvantage, though, is its basic choreography.

Considering the main focus is on superhero-type characters, this may not be an issue for some.

Samaritan’s visuals establish a clear tone throughout. This visual style contains more muted colors, signifying a lived-in world.

As this is a movie made for TV, some of the effects look cheap in comparison to other big-budget blockbusters.

Conclusion:

Samaritan is a standard superhero entry whose interesting ideas aren't explored enough.

Either that or they get overshadowed by uneven storytelling.

For fans of Sylvester Stallone or superhuman action, Samaritan is a decent recommendation.

Sam’s Action Reaction score:

Characters - 5.5/10

Story - 5.5/10

Action - 7/10

CGI and visuals - 6/10

Soundtrack - 6/10

Overall score: 6 out of 10