Bad Samaritan

"Bad Samaritan" (R, 1:51) is a thriller directed by actor-turned-producer Dean Devlin ("Geostorm"), written by Brandon Boyce ("Wicker Park") and starring television actor (and erstwhile Dr. Who) David Tennant. There's a bit of horror in here too, but this film is primarily an intricately plotted thrill ride.

The title character is named Sean Falco (Irish actor Robert Sheehan), a young man whose step-father brought him and his mother to the U.S. because of a job opportunity (for which Sean resents him). Sean is an aspiring photographer with a beautiful and intelligent college girlfriend named Riley (Jacqueline Byers) who knows nothing of Sean's real passion - stealing. Sean and his best friend, Derek (Carlito Olivero) work as valets at an expensive Italian restaurant... which is where they choose their marks. As one of them mans the valet stand, the other uses the vehicles, GPS devices and garage door openers of their unsuspecting customers to rob the patrons' homes, while they're just trying to have a nice meal.

One not-so-fine evening, after Derek has to abort his attempt to rob the home of one family enjoying a night out at the restaurant, it's Sean's turn. For his next victim, Sean chooses Cale Erendreich (Tennant), a man who seems very rich... and very mean. As Sean is searching Cale's home, he comes across a door with an unusually strong lock. He figures that a door secured that well, must have something especially valuable behind it. He uses Cale's keys to gain entry and finds Cale's computer - and a young woman (Kerry Condon), who is gagged, bound with straps and chains and sitting in a chair bolted to the floor.

Sean spends the rest of the movie trying to do right by Cale's captive. Sean tries his best to free her, but Derek tells him via cell phone that Cale has come outside to get his car. Conflicted but panicked, Sean promises the girl that he'll come back... and races back to the restaurant. This guy tries calling the police, breaking back into the house and any number of other things to save Cale's victim, but it's no small task going up against the highly intelligent Cale with his extraordinary attention to detail. This guy knows how to cover his tracks and seems to enjoy messing with the lives of anyone trying to stop his evil plans.

"Bad Samaritan" is an unexpectedly good thriller. Tennant and Sheehan are terrific in the lead roles. The rest of the actors are pretty good, but the overall quality of the movie may have been improved with a more talented cast. Regardless, this film's strength lies in its writing and directing. The plot has very few holes and plenty of twists and turns. The story is very well constructed and well executed, making the viewer sharply attentive, suitably tense and well rewarded with an entertaining cinematic experience. This film may fly under the radar of many Movie Fans, but it's well worth the effort to seek it out. "A-"

David Tennant stars as the movies antagonist in a clever little thriller that deserves more recognition than it appears to have recieved.

It tells the story of two friends who through their valet job proceed to rob people while they are at the restaurant. But on this occasion one of them finds a little more than he expected as the home contains a chained up woman.

Now Bad Samaritan immediatly suffers from a flaw that a lot of movies have have lately. Namely protagonists that I can't care for. Why am I supposed to root for criminals? These people are robbing folks, why am I supposed to care about them? Sadly this has been a big thing lately and really badly needs to stop.

The story is great, David Tennant is excellent (As always) and it all plays out really well. But our lead being a thief just kept nagging at me and bothered me considerably more than it perhaps should.

Putting that aside I can confidently say Bad Samaritan is a smart little film, well constructed and well performed so if the bad protagonist thing doesn't bother you then it's well worth your time.

The Good:

David Tennant

Very well made little thriller

Solid concept

The Bad:

Unlikeable protagonist

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

David Tennant needs more high profile work

Bad guys need to play bad guys, thieves should not be the protagonists

Women still haven't established that allowing themselves to be photographed topless/naked is a bad idea

Bad Samaritan is a film that I simply did not know was even being released until I looked on Fandango and checked what movies I could go see yesterday. And besides David Tennant, there's really no big name here at all and there wasn't a single bit of marketing that I saw, so there's that. Really, Bad Samaritan will likely be a film that comes and goes and never knows that it existed. However, I actually thought it was a pretty well made film. Granted, it starts to fall apart after the hour mark, but if you're just looking for a cheap thrill with some fun performances, creepy imagery, and good time at the theater, then look no further than Bad Samaritan. The film has no place making some of the third act decisions it does however, it never fully jumps the proverbial shark, and it's always entertaining.

7.3/10

For a B-grade film, this was surprisingly better than I expected. The acting was great by all cast members, the directing was on point, the writing was actually pretty good - without many plot issues one would normally expect, the cinematography perfect, the pacing was great, especially for the 107 min length, and the editing not too bad except for the flashbacks. My only critique was the terrible score, especially towards the last act. Had the score been more professional and consistent through out, the suspense would have been stellar instead of adequate. Overall an impressive film. A well deserved 8/10 from me.

For the most part, this film was well shot, very well acted, and well paced. My only real criticism for the film is the elements I felt were a bit over the top. These would include a bizarrely done flashback snippet, some odd plot occurrences, and a score that I felt elevated the cartoonish nature of the film. Still, would recommend a watch for those who like cat and mouse thrillers.