Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
Thirteen year old Sam Cleary suspects that his mysteriously reclusive neighbor Mr. Smith is actually the legendary vigilante Samaritan, who was reported dead 25 years ago. With crime on the rise and the city on the brink of chaos, Sam makes it his mission to coax his neighbor out of hiding to save the city from ruin.
Samaritan is a fairly generic superhero redemption story dressed up with a gritty urban backdrop. The plot retreads familiar territory — hidden hero, curious kid, city in crisis — without adding much that feels fresh or earned. Stallone's physical presence and committed performance elevate the acting above the material, but the supporting cast is uneven. Cinematography is workmanlike at best, functional but unremarkable. The twist on the villain identity tries to subvert expectations but feels telegraphed and undercooked, landing the ending in mediocre territory. Novelty is low given how closely it follows superhero-genre formulas despite its grounded pretensions.