The Samaritan

I can't work out Samuel L Jackson - he's an A-list actor, who repeatedly turns up in these 'straight to DVD' type films. Fury has received no theatrical cinema release, no real marketing campaign and little online publicity except simply appearing among countless other releases.

Jackson plays an ex con who's spent most of his life in prison and is now trying to go straight in his old age. Guess what, he doesn't. He gets sucked into a web of blackmail by a face from his past and soon he's involved in a dodgy and dangerous scam. Okay, so the plot isn't that original, but maybe that's the point. There's nothing new here, but that's not so bad.

Fury ticks all the boxes. It has plot twists, shoot-outs and some double-crossing. It'll never be a classic, like Pulp Fiction, but if you like heist, gangster or con-artist movies (as it borrows from all genres), you may get something out of this. Plus it has Samuel L Jackson, who always puts in a good performance.

Not amazing, but enjoyable if you're in the mood.

Samuel Jackson, executive producer, takes a big gamble with this movie because of its genre: film noir. These movies aren't made anymore. At one time they were prominent with stars like Barbara Stanwyck, Jimmy Cagney, Humphrey Bogart. The bad girl, the man she strings along, the steal, the con. Film noir is one of my favorite genres and I'm sorry that we don't have the pleasure of seeing them like we did.

This is an indy film, and will probably be released to the art houses. It's a good movie. Smart script, good acting. Twists and turns and a major surprise about mid-way that may make you stop the tape, walk away take a breath, come back and continue watching. I saw this video on demand. Jackson gives a worthy Oscar-rated performance, but I doubt since this is an indy movie and won't be seen by many he will get it. The main female actress, Ruth Negga, is a standout as the lost soul who gets used by man after man and finally with the help of the con Foley (Jackson) gets a second chance in life.

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.

Samuel Jackson shows off his acting chops in this gritty action thriller, with supporting actors doing a great job. He plays a man fresh out of prison after twenty five years who wants to go straight, but as it's mentioned in the movie, cons always say that at first. His past catches up to him in a huge way. Sure, we've seen plenty of this before, but the action moves right along with suitably dark sets and mood music to accompany all the nifty twists and turns. A nice surprise is young Ruth Negga who more than holds her own with the veterans. All in all a good effort, well worth the time to seek out, especially for Jackson fans.

The plot: An ex-con looking to go straight is blackmailed into one last grift.

I'm a huge sucker for film noir, so it's not like I could pass up a chance at watching a gritty crime thriller with Sam Jackson. I was a bit apprehensive when I saw the critical disdain, but I figured it'd be worth a try. I think some of the critics were a bit harsh, but this isn't really a great movie. There are certainly some good aspects to it, but the aggressively derivative elements really drag down the score. If it had been less of a pastiche (and outright ripoff) of certain movies, this could have been good. Unfortunately, to mention its primary inspiration would be a huge spoiler.

If you're tolerant of "homage", not looking for a unique story, and are a fan of either noir or Sam Jackson, then there's a fair chance that you'll enjoy The Samaritan. I found it quite watchable, but I was not impressed with the directing or writing. The acting, on the other hand, was fine. There are only two or three scenes with Sam Jackson's trademark outbursts of angry yelling, so you might want to load up Pulp Fiction again if that's what you're looking for.

Any true Sam Jackson fan has sat through some really terrible movies. This is nowhere near the bottom, but it's somewhat frustrating in that you can see how this could have been a good movie if they'd tried a little harder.