Samaritan Reviews

Julius Avery directs Samaritan, the latest script from Ninjago writer Bragi F. Schut. With Sylvester Stallone in the lead and a good story, this latest turn in the antihero with a kid genre holds up well.Sam Cleary (Javon 'Wanna' Walton) and his mother live in poverty. At the age of 13, he's right on the line of choosing a good path or a bad path for his future. He idolizes the Samaritan, a super-powered human who used to save the city but disappeared 25 years ago. But when he starts hooking up with the local criminals, Sam gets into trouble, and his neighbor Joe (Stallone) comes to the rescue. This starts Sam on the path to believing he's discovered Samaritan's whereabouts, and the pieces start adding up as he begins to watch Joe. Meanwhile, Cyrus (Pilou Asbæk), a local crime lord, has taken on the mantle of Nemesis - Samaritan's evil brother. Now Joe has a choice, reveal more about himself than he cares, or let the city fall to Cyrus's warped plan.The film starts with a comic book introduction. This sets the tone for the whole movie, but it's not a bad thing. Schut's story is solid, and the characters are sympathetic, even though they can be generic. The script answers this by not taking itself too seriously, which works well. Stallone's Joe is particularly interesting, played low-key in the style for which the actor is famous. Walton does an excellent job as Sam, exuding the hope, dreams, and fears of every 13-year-old child. Perhaps the best performance comes from Asbæk as Cyrus. His most notable roles are establishing him as the quintessential crazy man with a plan.The cinematography is a bit on the gray side, doing a solid job of portraying urban decay, poverty, and a city on the decline and on the edge of explosion - just waiting for a catalyst to set off the bomb. The score enhances this by adding tension in the background. A lot of the special effects are just right for the mood. However, the de-aging of Stallone looks odd; the worst part is the face appears narrower than at any point in Stallone's actual career.Samaritan is one of those films that is just plain fun to watch. The development of Joe and his underplayed yet over-the-top actions, the sympathy for the protagonists, and some foreshadowed surprises make the movie step beyond the boy scout genre of superheroes.