The Samaritan

I am stumped as to why an actor like Samuel L. Jackson, who regularly appears in big budget Hollywood movies, would be doing in a low budget Canadian movie. Apparently he was very attracted to this project, since he's also listed as one of the movie's producers. And the movie does have some positive attributes. Though low budget, it looks pretty slick, with good cinematography and intricate camera techniques. The acting by Jackson and the no-name Canadian cast is also pretty good. However, the screenplay is kind of inadequate. To be fair, it puts in a couple of twists that I didn't see coming. But for the most part, the movie travels down a very familiar path that will have you repeatedly saying, "I've seen this before." This isn't a terrible movie, but it's not very successful. By the way, this is one of the few Canadian movies to be set in Canada and involving Canadian characters... but the Canadian aspect of the movie is presented in such a soft and blink-and-you'll-miss-it manner that most viewers will think the story is taking place in the United States with American characters.