The Samaritan

No review content available.

"Nothing changes unless you make it change." After 20 years in prison for killing his friend Foley (Jackson) is out and is determined to go straight. Less then a day after being released he runs into some old friends and discovers the old life isn't easy to escape from and the only way out is to go back in. I have to start by saying that I have never been a Samual L. Jackson fan. I liked him in "Pulp Fiction" but he plays that character in every movie that he has done (except "Resurrecting The Champ"). This movie is no different, although for some of it he is toned down and isn't screaming every line. The movie itself is really not original. Guy gets out of jail and wants to go legit...meets people he used to know...has to pull off one last job...yada yada yada. While the ending of the movie is really good and helps the movie getting to the end is a struggle. Some parts are good while others are pretty boring and tends to drag on. There are really interesting plot points that are brought up and forgot about which makes no sense. The movie isn't all bad though and if you are a Sam Jackson fan you will really enjoy this one. For me the last movie he did "Meeting Evil" was much better. Overall, not a bad movie but nothing to rush and see. I give it a C+.

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.

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.