Granite City used to be the home of two super-powered individuals; Samaritan and Nemesis. After an explosion at the city's power plant, they were feared dead. But 25 years later there are some who believe Samaritan survived, including 13-year-old Sam Cleary (Javon Walton). Sam thinks his neighbour, Joe Smith (Sylvester Stallone), is the city's lost superhero, so the boy makes it his mission to find out why his hero is living in hiding.
Amazon's latest foray into a superhero world is not quite the explosive hit I'm sure they hoped it would be. Samaritan looks a lot like the superhero movies of the late nineties and early noughties - including some very cheap looking super suits and bad CGI. It feels like it has been ripped directly from the pages of a graphic novel, rather than adapted for a movie. Some things don't translate well from page to screen, and this it seems, is one of them. The story is a rather bland, run-of-the-mill affair, making it rather difficult to engage with - something the predictable plot twist doesn't help. And despite similar stories of a city in chaos, the presence of a RoboCop arcade machine in the villain's hideout only serves to remind you of a much better movie.
For an action movie there really isn't all that much action to be found, and what little there is isn't all that exciting. Yet another case of of the best bits being in the trailer. Maybe it would be different if the movie featured an interesting villain, one who could actually draw out our reclusive super. But despite Pilou Asbæk's best efforts, Cyrus is rather dull. The same goes for his gang; apart from some bad haircuts they are totally forgettable - although there is the odd moment in which it's fun to watch Stallone tear them apart. Which brings us to Samaritan's saving grace... its star.
At 76 years old Sylvester Stallone is still very much the action hero, but that's not why he's the saving grace here. In fact, it's the scenes when he's not doing super-human stuff that really shine. For such a brash movie, Stallone delivers quite a subtle performance as a man who simply wants to be left alone. He brings real heart to Joe Smith, as well as a relatable inner conflict, and in doing so he makes the character almost loveable, even if you can see where all this is going. Joe's dealings with Sam - played almost too convincingly by Walton - can be quite heart-warming, as he tries to both avoid the annoying child, and take him under his wing. Stallone and Walton even manage to bring a genuine humour to their relationship, as Sam hassles Joe about his possible secret identity. It's just a shame this doesn't carry over to the rest of the movie.
Stallone delivers a heart-warming performance as a man trying to live a quiet life, but when things kick into super-human high gear Samaritan quickly falls apart.
3/10
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