August 29 2022
In a time when it seems like every single comic book movie is either from Marvel or DC, Samaritan comes along to deliver a grounded, gritty, and street level take on the superhero genre. Right off the bat, we are given an intriguing exposition dump explaining the backstory and mythology of these unfamiliar heroes and villains. Sylvester Stallone is one of my favorite actors/action icons, and he totally brings his A game to Joe Smith, a freakishly strong garbage man who may or may not be Samaritan, a superhero presumed dead for 25 years. Stallone gives so much nuance and subtle emotions to this character especially with his facial expressions, making the scenes when he goes berserk on a bunch of bad guys all the more impactful. The young Javon Walton does a fairly impressive job as the 13 year old Sam Cleary and his fanboyish obsession with Samaritan is easily relatable for anyone who grew up reading comics. Pilou Asbæk is a lot of fun as the villain Cyrus and he did a fine job conveying menace, physical intimidation, and cult-like mob behavior that is not so different from real life domestic terrorists such as Antifa. The themes of good vs evil, social unrest, economic collapse, and character redemption are all familiar, yet they give the film a surprising amount of weight. The action sequences pack a big punch, as it’s so entertaining to see Sly basically on steroids throwing baddies around like they’re tennis balls. There’s a twist in the third act that I wasn’t expecting and while it took me off guard at first, it made total sense in hindsight. Overall, while director Julius Avery’s Samaritan may be a standard generic action movie at face value with all the predictable tropes one would expect, it is a nice change of pace from the current trend of superhero flicks with a committed performance from Stallone, original comic book like mythology, and enough hard hitting action to satisfy those looking for pure fun popcorn escapism.
GRADE: B-
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