If you'd like to be surprised by the Samaritan film, I don't recommend you to watch the trailer beyond 0:20, because it gives away too much of the plot. It basically provides a summary of the first half of the film.
Samaritan, movie (2022) - Watch the trailer on YouTube
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The Samaritan (2022) is a contemporary fantasy drama film. The movie was reviewed by Kadmon.
Product: Samaritan, movie (2022)
Original title: Samaritan
Series: -
Other adaptations of the story: Samaritan graphic novels (2014)
Setting: contemporary fantasy Earth
Product type: Film, Genre: contemporary fantasy drama, Style: sci-fi, fantasy, contemporary fantasy, action, adventure, super-human abilities
Release: 2022.08.26
Reviewer: Kadmon, Type: Male, 40s, Preferences: Immersive, logical story, consistent setting, prefers surprises to spoilers, prefers establishing elements before referencing them
Watched: very recent (2022.09), first time
Rating: Average (2 out of 3 points), Enjoyment: Average (2 out of 3 points)
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This is my review of Samaritan, a contemporary fantasy drama movie from 2022. It's about a kid trying to find a superhero, who supposedly died decades ago. The Samaritan film is watchable, but I only recommend it to fans of the genre.
Samaritan, movie (2022)
image © Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures
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Review (spoiler-free) - Samaritan, movie (2022)
I randomly ran into this movie. I've read the premise, and as I like superhero stories, I thought this could be interesting, so I watched the film. I didn't watch the trailer, and I haven't read the graphic novel.
The Samaritan movie is about a kid trying to find a superhero, who supposedly died decades ago.
The story (by Bragi F. Schut) is average, but it's written well. The consistency is okay. There are no proper character arcs. There were no major logical problems.
The cinematography is okay. The movie looks dull, it's not interesting visually. The action scenes are easy to follow.
The characters are neither interesting, nor well developed. Their portrayal by the actors is fine.
The music (by Jed Kurzel & Kevin Kiner) is good, it fits the story.
Samaritan is a watchable contemporary fantasy drama, I think fans of the genre might enjoy it.
My experience
I wasn't entirely satisfied with Samaritan (2022), but it was watchable. I happen to like stories with well-thought plots, and Samaritan was able to deliver that.
Rating: Average (2 out of 3 points). Samaritan is a well-made film, it's just not very clever, and a bit too long.
Enjoyment: Average (2 out of 3 points). Samaritan was watchable.
Rewatchability: Average. I think it's mostly the surprise of the story that makes you feel interested, but if you liked it for the first time, you'll probably like it for multiple viewings.
Chance of watching it again: There's a chance. Now that I know the story, there's probably no need to watch it again, but I liked it enough that I might watch it in the right circumstances.
Chance of watching a sequel: High. Although I'm not entirely satisfied with this instalment, I'd like to see where will they take the story.
Samaritan, movie (2022)
image © Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures
Will you enjoy this?
If you like supernatural or fantasy movies, you might like Samaritan.
If you like super-human action movies (Avengers, Justice League), you might like the film, although there are not as many action scenes in the Samaritan movie, and they are less spectacular.
If you'd like to get comedic moments in your movies, Samaritan will disappoint you, as it's mostly serious.
If you enjoyed the Hancock (2008), you might be also interested in this story.
If you like to be surprised by the development of events, this might be a movie for you.
If you prefer visuals over story, the Samaritan movie has some nice scenes.
If you hate depiction of violence, you should probably avoid this movie. And action movies overall.
Do you need to read the original graphic novel to enjoy this?
I haven't read the Samaritan comics, but I feel that we've got enough background information from the movie to understand the setting.
Watching for plot points
If you are interested in stories about people with super-human powers, I think it's worth watching the Samaritan movie for the plot points.
Should you watch this on your own screen at home, or is it worth going to the cinema?
The visuals probably look better if you watch it in cinema, but I think you'll get a similar experience either way.
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Samaritan, movie (2022)
image © Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures
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Review with spoilers - Samaritan, movie (2022)
I mostly liked the Samaritan movie.
Cover
The cover of the movie is okay, it doesn't say much, but it doesn't spoil the movie.
The trailer
The trailer is basically a substitute for watching the first half / two-thirds of the movie.
If you prefer spoilers, it's a great trailer for the Samaritan film /series. If you prefer to avoid spoilers, it will ruin the movie /series for you.
Promise of the first scene
There were superhumans, who died. I assume that either one (or more) of them is still alive, or new people got superhuman powers, and we'll see their rise.
Execution: We sure got some super-human action, so I'm okay with the promise.
Samaritan, movie (2022)
image © Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures
Plot summary / Synopsis
We get a story about two brothers who got superhuman abilities. One of them was good (Samaritan), the other became evil (Nemesis). They've turned against each other and died in their final fight. The narrator believes that the good superhuman is still alive somehow.
There's a kid (Javon 'Wanna' Walton as Sam Cleary), who lives with his mother (Dascha Polanco as Tiffany Cleary) in a big city (Granite City). The kid is fascinated with the tales of Samaritan. When he takes out the trash, he sees a bum (Sylvester Stallone as Joe Smith), who lives in their house, dumpster-diving to get some stuff. They talk for a bit.
When the kid of the family is out of money, his friend (Jace) convinces him to take part in a robbery. They break into an empty house, and take cables stolen from there to a crime lord (Pilou Asbæk as Cyrus), who is fascinated by Nemesis. There they convince the kid to take part in another crime, he has to distract a shop owner, while the others take away stuff. He gets into disagreement with some of the young gang members, but he gets his share in the end. The mother of the kid pays the rent with the money the kid gives her.
Next day, the other gang members notice the kid, and start to chase him to take revenge. They beat him up, until the bum arrives to stop them. He beats up the gang members who run away. The kid believes that the bum is secretly Samaritan. He adds his name to his long list of suspected Samaritans. He goes to a journalist (Martin Starr as Albert Casier) with this, but he dismisses his story.
The crime boss and his crew break into a police evidence store. They find the mask and hammer of Nemesis inside. The crime boss intends to use the hammer to finish what Nemesis started.
When the bum goes away, the kid sneaks into his apartment. He finds a scrapbook of newspaper clippings about the Samaritan that he takes away.
When the bum gets home, he immediately finds out about this, and visits the kid. The bum gets back the scrapbook and explains it that he has that, because he was also a fan of Samaritan.
When the bum heads home, he is run over by the gang members, whom he beat up earlier. Although he is seriously injured, he regenerates, revealing that he is indeed superhuman.
The crime boss uses a blackout bomb to make a blackout, then he declares himself Nemesis to the gathering crowd, and promises that he'll give the people back what is theirs. For some reason, every bystander agrees with him, and they start trashing the city.
The kid goes back to the crime boss. He sees the crime boss kill a cop they've captured, because he wanted to stop them. When the kid sees young gang members beat up his friend, he tries to stop them, but he gets beaten up instead. When the gang members bring him home, they notice the bum, whom they think they've killed.
The goons of the crime boss attack the bum. He beats them, using his superhuman powers, than he escapes before the police arrives.
The bum, after seeing himself in the news, decides to leave.
The gangsters make a visit at the bum's flat, but he has already left. They see the kid staring at them, so they decide to capture him, in hopes that the bum will come back to free him. Indeed, he does. He drives a garbage truck through the wall of the crime boss's hideout. The crime boss attacks him with the hammer, but the bum takes it from him, and he reveals that he is not Samaritan, but he is Nemesis. During the fight, he sets the place on fire. The crime boss ties the kid in an empty room.
The gangsters blow up blackout bombs throughout the city. People start looting and rioting.
When Nemesis goes to free the kid, the crime boss sneaks on him, and takes the hammer. Nemesis easily defeats him, and throws the guy into the raging fire.
Then Nemesis leaves, and the kid tells the reporters it was the Samaritan who saved him.
The setting
The story is set in contemporary fantasy Earth, probably the 2020s. The place is called Granite City, but it looks like a mix of San Francisco and Detroit.
There were at least two people with superhuman powers.
Blackout bomb: When it explodes, it makes the electronic devices in the area unable to work. It also spreads some kind of black gas.
Samaritan & Nemesis
We don't get to know how did they get their powers. It is hinted that they were twin brothers.
We get to see the powers of Nemesis at work, I assume the powers of Samaritan are similar.
Nemesis:
- Regular weapons are unable to pierce his skin. Being run over by a car would do the trick, it breaks his bones, and makes him bleed. When they were younger, they were probably totally immune to damage, otherwise, Nemesis wouldn't have made that hammer.
- When he regenerates, it heats up his body. If he overheats, his heart might explode.
- He eats ice-cream to cool his body down.
- He is still pretty strong, but he was stronger when he was active, and kept caring. He could jump over 10 cars, now only 9.
- He was able to create a hammer that grants superhuman powers to the wielder, and it is the only weapon able to hurt Samaritan (or Nemesis).
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Samaritan, movie (2022)
image © Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures
Analysis of the story - Samaritan, movie (2022)
I mostly liked the story, I didn't find problems that would have prevented me from enjoying Samaritan.
The message of the story
I'm not sure there's one.
The structure of the story
The scenes of the Samaritan film are mostly played in sequence, following the same storyline. We also see some flashbacks to previous events, regarding the past of Samaritan and Nemesis.
There's no single viewpoint character.
It has the usual arc of the dramatic structure - introduction, action, resolution.
Things I liked
- Foreshadowing: After the first 25-30 minutes, I started to get the feeling that the guy is not Samaritan, but Nemesis, due to many odd references, and acts that didn't really fit the "good guy" picture, I've imagined Samaritan to be. This was a great use of small pieces of foreshadowing, building the story.
- The twist: After all the foreshadowing, I was actually satisfied with the twist.
- The armour of the superheroes: Finally a story that shows that super-powered people are not stupid, and they would try to protect themselves.
Problematic elements
The title: I don't particularly like the phrase "Samaritan". English speakers use it as a synonym for some kind of paragon of goodness. But in the original tale, out of all the Samaritans, there were only one who was good, that's why they pointed out that he was "a good Samaritan". So, Samaritan should be a synonym for "untrustworthy", and for me, the phrase always bring these connections.
The hammer of Nemesis: Why is that just kept there between mundane items? The hammer clearly radiates something, it should be kept in a closed location, even if just to protect the people who work there. As it also gives super-strength to the wielder, it would be probably best kept in a science facility, where they could research the source of its power.
Running over the Samaritan: Did those guys really spent all this time, waiting for the Samaritan to appear? Didn't they have anything better to do? If it would have happened immediately after they've spot him, it would have been a lot more plausible.
Returning to crime: I don't really get the reasons behind the acts of the kid. He needed the money, so he turned to crime, that's something I can relate to. Then, he met his hero, who was a crime-fighting vigilante. After this, he still returns to the crime boss, and continue where he left.
Taking the kid home: After beating him up, why do they bring the kid home? How do they even know where he lives? I know the scene is there so they could see that the bum is still alive, but it could have been written in a better way.
Careless use of powers: He just doesn't seem to plan his moves, or care about the side effects.
- When the bum beats the gangsters, he doesn't look where will they land, and he just throws one of them through a wall. The corpse falls into the street, and it could have caused further accidents.
- When he tries to free the kid, he drives a truck through the wall. The kid could have been just in the way of the truck, killing him instead.
People filming the fight: One of the gangsters uses a blackout bomb during the incident. Isn't the whole purpose of that to make electronics short circuit? Yet, we see that plenty of people are making videos of the event.
Fighting the goons: When the crime boss escapes, and Nemesis is left to defeat his goons, it's kinda boring, as we already know that they don't stand any chance.
The burning building: It's not just the open flames that kill you, but the carbon-dioxide makes you choke, the temperature makes your skin fry, while your lung is getting boiled. So, it's unlikely that any of the normal humans would survive there. And even Nemesis probably need to breathe.
The journalist: I feel that the character was not necessary for the plot. It didn't really give deeper insight into the past, and we've already got flashbacks through the story.
The mother: She is another character who just stands in the background for the whole movie. If the protagonist were a decade older, and lived alone, the character of the parent wouldn't have been required.
Unanswered questions
- Where did the power of Samaritan and Nemesis come from?
- Did Samaritan really die in the fire?
- Will Nemesis accept the responsibility to continue as the Samaritan?
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Possibilities of improvement
How it could have been better?
Have a slightly older protagonist, who lives alone, so we don't have to deal with a mother. I've heard that the original script had the kid remark on the world as it is, providing a social commentary, but this is missing from the final movie.
The protagonist could be combined with the journalist - he could be the one publishing about the Samaritan.
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How does it compare to the other works of the creators?
I haven't seen any other works of the writer (Bragi F. Schut). I liked the twist in this one, so now I'm interested in his stories.
From the director (Julius Avery), I have seen Overlord (2018), that was good.
How does it compare to the original source?
I didn't read the original script, so I have no idea.
How does it compare to other adaptations of the same story?
I didn't read the original comics, so I have no idea.
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Behind the scenes
Thoughts about the reviews of others
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Samaritan, movie (2022)
image © Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures
Uses for the film - Samaritan, movie (2022)
Plot
- Set in a contemporary fantasy setting.
- There are super-powered humans in this world.
- A bad person (crime boss) gets access to a magical artifact (the hammer of Nemesis).
- A bad person (crime boss) gets access to high-tech weapons (blackout grenades).
- A bad person (Nemesis) wants to get rid of his life of violence, but he gets dragged back into it.
- There's a person (a kid) who secretly tests people whether they have super-human powers.
Scenes
- The scenes showing Samaritan and Nemesis fighting could be used to depict super-soldiers fighting.
- The scenes showing the crime boss inciting riots could be used to show civil unrest.
Designs
Scenario ideas - Role-playing game scenario ideas
Scenario ideas - Wargame scenario ideas
Teaching a lesson (solo game): The attacker team is sent to teach a lesson to a misbehaving person, that's played automatically. The attacker sets up the playing area. It's a residential area, but it can be an abandoned part. There are locals and passers-by in the area, that need not be indicated, but you can put some random models in the playing area if you wish, so you remember this. The attacker deploys their models in the middle third ring of the playing area - they can't be on the edges, but also can't be in the middle. They are equipped with close combat weapons, and they can't wear heavy armour. Then the attacker player randomly chooses an edge, and place the defender model in the middle of that. If you are using a long table, only the two short ends should be used as entry edges. The attacker player wins if they make the defender model unable to fight (incapacitated or killed), while more than half of their own units survive. The defender wins if the model reaches the opposing edge. It's a draw if the defender can't reach the opposing edge, but the attackers lose more than half of their units. When the first attacker model announces that it intends to attack the defender model, roll a d6:
- 1-2: Police arrives: Although the area is abandoned, but it's patrolled by the police. Deploy a group of policemen on one of the edges, in the line of sight of the defender model. If the police team sees the attackers attacking any model, they will close in to intervene, and put the attacking model into custody. If the attacker team defeats all models of the police team, roll a d6 in the beginning of every turn after that. On a 1, another team arrives.
- 3-4: Helpful neighbours: The people of this area help their own. Put 6 civilian models in random places on the playing area, armed with small close combat weapons. At the beginning of every turn after this, roll a d6. On 1-2, put that many additional models in random places.
- 5-6: Super-human: It turns out that the defender model has super-human powers. Come up with some cool abilities that make the model a lot stronger than the individual attackers, but they still have a slight chance of defeating it in close combat.
Rescue the captives: The defenders want to defeat a very strong opponent. The strong opponent is the attacker. The defenders catch some people the strong opponent wants to rescue. The defenders managed to get a special weapon that is able to hurt the strong opponent. The defender sets up the playing area, with a base in the middle, that has a closed area, serving as the prison for the captives. The defender deploys their models anywhere on the playing area, and indicates with a marker which model has the special weapon. The attacker has a single model, that is deployed on any of the edges of the playing area. The defending model with the special weapon can attack the attacker, and with a successful attack, it causes damage to the attacker. If the model having the special weapon is defeated, the marker is put in its place. If a defender can take it, they can use it against the attacker. If the attacker takes it, a defender model has to win a close combat against the attacker to grab the special weapon. The attacker wins if they open the prison, and leave the playing area with the captives. The defender wins if they defeat the attacker. If the attacker can't save the captives, it's a draw.
The strong model: It can walk through doors, they don't slow it. It needs to spend an action to get through a fortified door. The defender models can't hurt him, even a successful attack only counts as causing 0 wounds. The strong model cannot move through enemy models, unless it makes a successful close combat attack - this attack causes half damage to the enemy model.
Variant: Multiple prisons (harder for the attacker): The defender deploys multiple prisons in the base. The attacker has to open all of them to rescue all of the captives.
Variant: Attacker team (easier for the attacker): The attacker has a single very strong model, but some regular people also joined him. They have similar equipment and skills that the defenders have. They can't just open the doors of the prison, they need to spend an action, and roll 1-3 on a d6 to succeed.
Miniatures - 1/50-1/60 (28-32mm scale)
Civilians: Human-sized (S3) modern (advanced) human female / male civilian.
Criminals: Human-sized (S3) modern human civilians with weapons.
Nemesis: Human-sized (S3) modern / futuristic human warrior, in full armour. He carries a hammer.
Samaritan: Human-sized (S3) modern / futuristic human warrior, in full armour.
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Similar stories - Samaritan, movie (2022)
Short stories
Novels
Graphic novels
Samaritan (2014): A graphic novel that was based on the same script that was the basis of this movie.
Movies
Hancock (2008): In a contemporary setting, there's a person with super-human powers, who does some heroic deeds publicly.
Unbreakable (2000): In a contemporary setting, there's a person with super-human powers, who does some heroic deeds in secret. There's also a person, who secretly test people whether they have super-human powers.
TV series & episodes
Computer games
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Frequently asked questions - Samaritan, movie (2022)
Is the Samaritan film based on a book or comics?
No, Samaritan is not based on either books or comics, but there was also a graphic novel published by Mythos Comics from the original script, also titled Samaritan (2014).
Is the Samaritan film a remake or reboot?
No, the Samaritan film is neither a remake nor a reboot.
Is there a post credit scene in Samaritan? Does Samaritan have end credit scenes? Does Samaritan have a post credit scene?
No, there's no post credit scene in Samaritan.
Where can I see Samaritan? What is Samaritan playing on? What streaming service is Samaritan on? Where can I watch Samaritan online? Is Samaritan available on Netflix? Is Samaritan on Amazon?
As of 2022.10.05, Samaritan is only available on Amazon Prime Video.
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Resources - Samaritan, movie (2022)
Official
Amazon: Samaritan: Official article.
Information
IMDB: Samaritan (2022): Database article.
WikiPedia: Samaritan (2022 film): Database article.
Letterboxd: Samaritan 2022: Database article.
Rotten Tomatoes: Samaritan 2022: Database article.
TVTropes: Film / Samaritan: Database article.
Creation
: Concept art article / video.¤
Reviews with no spoilers - Samaritan film (2022)
: Review article / video about the Samaritan film with no spoilers.¤
Reviews with spoilers - Samaritan film (2022)
: Review article / video of the Samaritan movie, with spoilers. Includes a very detailed plot summary.¤
Analysis - Samaritan movie (2022)
: Analysis article / video, explaining the finale of Samaritan.¤
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Buying the product - Samaritan, movie (2022)
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Have you seen the Samaritan film? How do you like the movie? Would you recommend it to others? Do you know reviews or resources you'd like to add? What further thoughts do you have about it? Tell your opinion in the comments!
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