REVIEW: ‘Samaritan’ Squanders Its Superheroic Potential

Samaritan is a Prime Video/MGM Original film directed by Julius Avery and written by Bragi F. Schut. 25 years ago, the mighty hero Samaritan supposedly perished in a battle with his twin brother Nemesis. He left his hometown of Granite City on the brink of chaos, as criminals roam the streets and citizens are struggling to make a living. 13-year-old Sam Cleary (Javon Walton) is convinced that Samaritan survived his final fight; his suspicion only grows when he sees his next-door neighbor Joe Smith (Sylvester Stallone) exhibiting immense strength and resistance to harm. Putting two and two together, Sam attempts to convince Joe to take up the mantle of Samaritan, especially as local crime lord Cyrus (Pilou Asbæk) grows obsessed with finding Nemesis’ hammer – the one weapon that could kill Joe.

When I first heard about this movie, it sounded really promising – especially when Avery revealed that he cast Stallone as the lead due to his tenure as an action hero. “We didn’t really have superheroes,” he said during an interview with Total Film. “We only had action heroes. And Sly was the closest thing we had to a superhero. So to put him in a superhero movie? That feels fresh and cool and something that people will get a kick out of.” Alas, that promise is entirely squandered by Schut’s screenplay, which refuses to build on its premise in a meaningful way.

Nowhere is this made more clear than in the prologue, which reveals that Samaritan and Nemesis had their home burned down when they were young. While this explains Nemesis’ turn to villainy, it doesn’t explain why Samaritan would choose to protect a city that tried to kill him and his family. There’s also a fairly predictable twist that viewers will see coming a mile away, yet the film chooses to treat it as a grand revelation.  And while the film plays with some interesting ideas, including the gravity of the choices you make, it doesn’t fully commit to them.It’s clear Schut needed a few more passes at the script since this film plays out like a collection of ideas instead of a coherent story.

The direction doesn’t fare any better. The pacing starts off extremely glacial and seems to repeat the same series of events throughout the first two acts. Joe proves he has powers, Sam attempts to convince him to be a hero again, Joe refuses, and Cyrus does bad guy stuff. It’s a far cry from Avery’s past work which knew when to build up and pay off on its moments. The only time the film shows sparks of life is in its third act, with a battle taking place inside a burning warehouse that makes inventive use of Joe’s powers as well as the environment he’s in. Another cool scene features Joe saving a little girl by grabbing a car and using it as a makeshift shield.

But what’s really disappointing is that the film feels less like a fresh take on the superhero genre and more like a cribbing of ideas from other, more successful projects. We’ve seen a so-called villain attempt to incite a revolution. We’ve seen a man with superhuman abilities attempt to live a normal life until fate intervenes. And we’ve seen plenty of films where a grizzled warrior forms a bond with a child. Prime Video had found success in offering counterprogramming to most superhero media in the form of The Boys and Invincible, so for Samaritan to feel as second-rate as it does is baffling.

Despite all of this, both Stallone and Asbæk deliver solid performances throughout. Stallone plays Joe as a world-weary, yet noble man—even though the world’s dealt him a raw hand, he still has it in him to help people. In one of the film’s few good moments, Stallone delivers a speech about making the right choices that wouldn’t feel out of place in a Rocky film. He also gives his superhero a few interesting quirks. In one part, Joe consumes whole tubs of ice cream to “cool down” his superheating body after he uses his powers and collects old radios to fix in his spare time. Additionally, Asbæk relishes playing the villain. His stare is so menacing and so intense that it briefly had me considering who would win in a staring contest between himself and Daniel Kaluuya. And he taps into the kind of unhinged energy that few actors can reach.

Sadly, the rest of the cast isn’t afforded the same opportunity. Walton may be playing the most annoying teenager on the planet, as most of his dialogue consists of pestering Stallone’s character or the most unbelievable excuses ever known to man. Dascha Polanco gets saddled with the cliche role of “single mom who’s also a nurse”, and Martin Starr plays a dour conspiracy theorist which doesn’t give him the chance to flex his comedic skills. But perhaps the worst role goes to Moises Aries as Cyrus’ right-hand man Reza. There’s no easy way to put this: with his brightly colored dreadlocks and garish face tattoos, Aries is essentially playing Tekashi 69, but far more annoying. Every word out of his mouth will make the viewer grateful when Joe finally sends him flying with a single shove.

Samaritan squanders the talent of its cast and crew by botching a promising premise. There are still interesting stories to be told in the realm of capes and cowls, and I wish that Samaritan had even a fraction of that innovation. Stallone deserved better, Avery deserved better, and viewers definitely deserve better.

Samaritan is available to stream now, exclusively on Prime Video.