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 Samaritan
review by Bobby Blakey

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Marvel and DC might be the dominate force at the box office, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other heroes out there. Sylvester Stallone is no stranger to the genre starring as Judge Dredd back in 1995 as well as a member of the original team in Guardians of the Galaxy 2. Now he is teaming up with Overlord director Julius Avery for a different kind of superhero flick Samaritan co-starring Javon “Wanna” Walton, Pilou Asbæk, Dascha Polanco and Moises Arias. Can Sta

 

Samaritan follows Thirteen-year-old Sam Cleary suspects that his mysterious and reclusive neighbor Mr. Smith is actually a legend hiding in plain sight. Twenty years ago, Granite City’s super-powered vigilante, Samaritan, was reported dead after a fiery warehouse battle with his rival, Nemesis. Most believe Samaritan perished in the fire, but some in the city, like Sam, have hope that he is still alive. With crime on the rise and the city on the brink of chaos, Sam makes it his mission to coax his neighbor out of hiding to save the city from ruin.

 

This is the perfect vehicle for Stallone who has fully embraced his age, but still able to bring the action. Like most who grew up in the 80s and 90s I am a fan of Stallone and his action films, but as he has gotten older his performances have started to stand out more than his muscles, but make no mistake they are still there. Here is a dark brooding loner that you can see has a lot of inner pain and struggle with his past and just wanting to be left alone. Stallone shines in the role bringing that rough exterior he is known for but with this fragile human quality.

While Stallone is front and center here it reminded me of films like Last Action Hero in the one of the kid counterpart, not the quality of the film. Javon Walton leads the story in his search for the truth and getting into

trouble needing help. He is a likable kid despite his bad decision making and Walton plays him well. Stallone and Walton have a good chemistry that is kind of like a dysfunctional father and son, but also friends. Their scenes together really make this film work and make the film something more than just your average superhero flick.

This is not the kind of superhero film that fans are used to these days with the flashy CGI, but instead a gritty, dirty world that offers up some realism to the heroics. There is some CGI and de-aging in the third act that isn’t great, but thankfully a very small part of the overall film. I really dug the hell out of this film and what it is especially some fun twists and the full on action and chaos of the last act.

Check out Samaritan streaming now exclusively on Prime Video.

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