The Samaritan

It is another action / noir - or whatever you wanna name it - film. Things are explained in half a second and the action, drama and love scenes take long minutes. A typical "you don't nedd to understand it, simply enjoy the action" thing. But you know what? That's what entertainment seems to be. Not that I like it, but it is what it is. And the film brings Samuel L. Jackson, one of everybody's favourite actors, so it is worthy trying "The Samaritan". The twists in the plot , mainly in the last minutes, play a good role and make the 90 min projection a good time.

Try it, but don't expect a lot.

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 L. Jackson and his "rival" in this movie bring their A-game for this. I can only imagine that Sam read the script and went "Holy ..." when he read one of the "turning points" in it. It's really something, though maybe not completely unpredictable, it did catch me by surprise and was a nice thing.

While the cover might be suggesting more action that is actually in this, it still is highly thrilling and tries to stay as grounded (in reality) as possible. It achieves that more often than not and will surely not only appeal to fans of Mr. Jackson. Maybe the bad guy here will get a few new fans as well. It's not an easy task to hold your own against the sheer ferocity and will of Sam. A nice little thriller that can ...

After seeing "Meeting evil", I was concerned this was another dud for Samuel Jackson. He always gives a great performance, but the story isn't always up to par. I had never heard of this movie so I had lower than low expectations. Wow, I was pleasantly surprised. Shocking twists and turns kept me interested from beginning to end. I don't want to give a synopsis because I think it's better if you go in green like I did. But now I'm struggling to fill 10 lines without any spoilers. Glad I didn't check the reviews on IMDb else I would have never would have rented it. The 5.5 is totally undeserved, but I understand it. Many judge movies based on how many explosions and CGI it contains. And I've never seen Oldboy so it didn't feel like a remake. Bottom line, this is a great drama and all the characters are believable.

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.