I wanted to see Black Panther yesterday, but my wife wanted to see Samson. I will have to wait until this afternoon to see Black Panther. I wasn't sure what to expect with Samson, but I wasn't expecting much. I know the story fairly well and the trailers didn't look particularly interesting to me. I enjoyed the film more than I expected, my expectations tempered greatly by the horrid reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb.
Samson (Taylor James) was one of the last Israelite Judges. He was a bit of a reluctant judge. He was raised from birth in the Nazirite tradition. His mother and father were given three primary rules. He could not drink alcohol, he should not shave his head and he should not touch a dead body. The film picks up the story with an adult Samson and his younger brother Caleb (Greg Kriek) stealing food from the Temple of Dagon. Caught in the act, the pair flee to their home. The Israelites are under the thumb of the Philistines, with a cruel Prince Rallah (Jackson Rathbone) lording over them.
Samson demonstrates his strength when a Philistine champion begins bad mouthing the God of Israel. He falls in love with a young Philistine woman (Frances Sholto-Douglas) who he plans to marry. He tells a riddle to his groomsmen before his wedding, which the prince solves, placing Samson in debt to the prince. Samson honors that debt by killing 30 Philistines only to discover that his fiancee was married off in his absence. In his anger, Samson sets the Philistine fields on fire and takes refuge in a cave. When men come to take him into custody, he goes, but kills a Philistine army of 1,000 with just the jawbone of an ass. Samson runs from his calling as judge, settling for simpler, more immediate pleasures, but wants to bargain for peace. In the process, he is betrayed by another lover (Delilah/Caitlin Leahy) and his strength taken from him. He is bestowed with strength one last time in a demonstration of God's power.
Samson embellishes the bible story slightly, filling in some blanks and combining some stories to add some continuity. The embellishment isn't major and it doesn't serve to make the story any better. The story does basically track the story of Samson closely. The narrative is a bit stilted and uneven in this telling. The character development lacked something, which never really made me feel connected to the story. It may have been in the dialogue, which sometimes felt forced. Whatever the case, the story is a decent story, I'm not sure this film did it justice.
Samson had some modest star power. Old time stars Rutger Hauer and bionic woman Lindsay Wagner have near cameo roles as Samson's parents. Rathbone has had smaller roles in several blockbuster films. Billy Zane is another B-lister who has been in countless films since the 1980s. Taylor James is lesser known, having a bit part in Justice League and a series of lesser known films. Kriek has also had quite a few small roles in numerous films. The performances were okay, but the characters not developed enough to showcase any real talent. For the most part, the film features faces you will recognize but not quite able to place. That is not always a bad thing for a film like this. Particularly if the script is well done. This one was okay. Not exceptional, but not as bad as the critics are making it out to be, either.
Samson has a one hour, fifty minute run time. The film was rated PG-13 primarily for violence. The battle sequences seem to be the only thing that earned this film the rating it received. The sexual content of the real story is never explored. This film is intended for Christian audiences, so the racier aspects of the real story were tempered. This is a film that was designed for Sunday school classes. There is a famous scene involving a lion that was depicted, but with zero gore. The violence is suggested more than depicted. This film isn't scary or gratuitously violent.
Samson is a tough film to rate. It has merit. While the characters lack development and the dialogue feels forced at times, the story is an endearing one. The underlying message is one of submission and redemption. They are good morals for a world that feels like it has lost her moral compass. The actors were okay, although nothing special. I can't say I am a fan of Taylor James after this film. I'm not sure he has the chops to carry a film like this. That may have been a large part of the problem. I can't really put my finger on it, but I think it was a number of small things that made this film feel sterile to me. I never embraced it fully. But it's not a bad film. I would recommend waiting for it on video. 6/10.
The images in this post are from the film Samson produced by Pure Flix Productions.