Samaritan

Plot

Twenty five years ago – two superhuman brothers in the fictional Granite City, the crime fighting Samaritan, and the evil Nemesis had an epic battle that saw them both perish. Some like the young teen Sam believe that Samaritan survived – and went into exile. Sam thinks his mysterious neighbour Joe Smith is Samaritan.

The city of Granite City has since gone into disarray – with millions out of work and homeless. Sam decides to join the villainous Cyrus – who wants to lead an upheaval – under the mythology of Nemesis. Can Sam out Joe as Samaritan, and help bring the ‘new Nemesis’ down?

Direction

This came from a director that I was not familiar with, Julius Avery – and I really enjoyed some of his styles and techniques. He did a great job with the action throughout, and there is some animated action sequences as well.

There is also a pretty solid long take during a fight sequence later in the film too.

Cast/Characters

This was a pretty well cast film, with Sylvester Stallone in the title role. He is believable as the aged, world wise ‘Joe’ who has been hiding his true identity for decades.

Javon Walton, a newcomer is sound as Sam. I felt at times some of his characters reactions were a bit off, and this could have been a poor notes from the director (or purposeful choice).

Pilou Asbæk as Cyrus seemed to be having a great time (and riding on the coat tails of his then Game of Thrones fame).

Screenplay/Setting

The setting is the fictional city of Granite City (despite there being an actual Granite City in the US), and the downtrodden look and feel of it feels realistic and well done.

The beginning exposition is needed, and the creation of Samaritan and Nemesis is only briefly mentioned in the beginning, so their existence is simply just a part of the films lore.

There are some convoluted parts to the mythos of Samaritan as well (heart explodes if he overheats?)

There are some nice moments between Joe and Sam too, as Joe becomes an almost father figure to Sam.

There is also a very good third act twist that I honestly did not see coming!

Overall

I was (and still am) unfamiliar with Samaritan as a comic book/graphic novel, so some of my aforementioned thoughts might be a bit harsh. I did struggle to get into this – and the first act was a little off – but once it gets going it is quite good, and I was actually taken aback by a 3rd act twist. This is a recommend from me.

3.5/5