''Samaritan'' is a 2022 American

superhero film A superhero film (or superhero movie) is a film that focuses on the actions of superheroes. Superheroes are individuals who possess superhuman abilities and are dedicated to protecting the public. These films typically feature Action film, ac ...

directed by

Julius Avery Julius Avery is an Australian screenwriter and film director. Life and works After growing up in Pemberton, Western Australia, Avery attended The Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne. He has written and directed several award winning ...

and written by Bragi F. Schut. Described as a dark, new take on superhero movies, the story was previously adapted into the Mythos Comics graphic novels by Schut, Marc Olivent, and Renzo Podesta. It is a co-production of

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

and

Balboa Productions Balboa Productions is an American film and television production company led by Sylvester Stallone and named after his character Rocky Balboa from the ''Rocky'' franchise. History On May 30, 2018, Sylvester Stallone formed Balboa Productions w ...

. The film stars

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...

in the main role, Javon "Wanna" Walton,

Pilou Asbæk Johan Philip "Pilou" Asbæk (; born 2 March 1982) is a Danish actor. He is known for his role as troubled spin doctor Kasper Juul in the Danish television political drama ''Borgen'', and as Euron Greyjoy in the television series ''Game of Throne ...

Dascha Polanco Dascha Yolaine Polanco (born December 3, 1982) is a Dominican-American actress. She is known for portraying the role of Dayanara "Daya" Diaz on the Netflix series ''Orange Is the New Black'', and for the role of Cuca in the 2021 movie ''In the He ...

, and

Moises Arias Moises or Moisés is a male name common among people of Iberian origin. It is the Spanish, Portuguese and Tagalog equivalent of the name Moses. ;Places * Doctor Moisés Bertoni, a village in the Caazapá department of Paraguay * Moises Padilla, a ...

. The story follows a kid who suspects that his neighbor is secretly a superhero who was believed to have died many years prior. ''Samaritan'' was released on August 26, 2022, by

United Artists Releasing United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studio ...

and

Amazon Studios Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed th ...

via streaming on

Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service prim ...

. The film received mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

Superhumans Samaritan and Nemesis were antagonistic twin brothers who lived in Granite City. Evenly matched, the villainous Nemesis crafts a mystical

sledgehammer A sledgehammer is a tool with a large, flat, often metal head, attached to a long handle. The long handle combined with a heavy head allows the sledgehammer to gather momentum during a swing and apply a large force compared to hammers designed t ...

that gave him an edge over the heroic Samaritan, and during a confrontation at the city's power plant, both were apparently killed as the plant exploded. Many people remain fans of Samaritan, and there are constant rumors that he is still alive. In the present, thirteen-year-old Sam Cleary tries his best to help his mother with their financial crisis and after being threatened with eviction he accepts a job from a gang headed by Reza. The plan goes awry and Reza tries to blame Sam, but the real gang leader, Cyrus, is impressed and personally gives Sam $110. Reza and his friends later attack Sam as payback but are stopped by Joe Smith, a garbage collector who lives in an apartment across from Sam's. Joe displays super-strength in fighting off the gang members, and Sam suspects that he is Samaritan. Meanwhile, Cyrus locates Nemesis' hammer at a police station and sets himself up as the new Nemesis, sparking riots and chaos throughout the city, using EMP grenades to blackout and disrupt the city infrastructure. After Sam confronts him, Joe denies that he is Samaritan, but Reza - still looking for revenge - hits him with his car. Joe is badly injured but heals before Sam's eyes, overheating so much he has to be cooled down in a cold shower and by eating ice cream. Joe and Sam build a friendship, while at the same time Cyrus invites Sam to work with his gang. However, Sam is disturbed when he witnesses their violent activities. When Joe saves a young girl from an explosion caused by the gang, the media claims that Samaritan is back threatening Cyrus' plans. Reza recognises Joe as being the same person he "killed" with his car and thus his identity and connection to Sam. Finding Joe's apartment empty they kidnap Sam and his mother to lure Joe to their headquarters and a trap. Joe breaks into the headquarters, and decimates the gang before being confronted by Cyrus, now dressed as Nemesis and wielding the hammer. Despite his strength, Joe is weakened from the gang fight, and at a disadvantage against the hammer giving Cyrus the upper hand. As they fight, with Cyrus calling himself Nemesis, and Joe "the good guy", Joe reveals that Samaritan ''did'' die during the power plant fire, and Joe is actually Nemesis, who survived but left his villainous life behind. Destroying the hammer, Joe kills Cyrus by knocking him into a burning abyss - the same way he killed Samaritan - but almost overheats from his healing abilities and the spreading fire. Sam breaks open a pipe to shower him with water allowing Joe to recover enough to escape with Sam by jumping out a window. Joe leaves, overhearing Sam tell the press that "Samaritan" saved him.

Cast

Production

In February 2019, it was announced that

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

had acquired a

spec script A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned and unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or ...

by Bragi F. Schut titled ''Samaritan'' to be co-produced with

. Schut had written the screenplay prior to adapting the story in a series of graphic novels published by Mythos Comics. In September 2019,

joined the production as director. In February 2019, it was announced that

would star in the titular role and also act as producer. In February 2020,

Martin Starr Martin James Pflieger Schienle (born July 30, 1982), professionally known as Martin Starr, is an American actor and comedian. He is known for the television roles of Bill Haverchuck on the short-lived comedy drama ''Freaks and Geeks'' (1999–20 ...

, Javon 'Wanna' Walton,

Jared Odrick Jared Taylor Odrick (born December 31, 1987) is a former American football defensive end. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He played college football ...

, and Michael Aaron Milligan joined the cast in supporting roles. In March 2020,

Natacha Karam Natacha Karam is a Northern Irish and French Lebanese actress. She is best known for her roles as Jasmine "Jaz" Khan in '' The Brave'' and Marjan Marwani in '' 9-1-1: Lone Star''. Background Karam was born in Jeddah where her family was station ...

joined the cast of the film. In September 2019, filming was scheduled for a 2020 start date in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. Filming was confirmed to have commenced by February 26, 2020. On March 14, the production went on hiatus due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. By October 8, 2020, filming had resumed.

Jed Kurzel Jed Danyel Kurzel (born 1976) is an Australian singer-songwriter-guitarist and film composer. He is a founding member of The Mess Hall (from 2001), a blues rock duo. His older brother Justin Kurzel is a film director and screenwriter. Life an ...

and

Kevin Kiner Kevin Kiner (born September 3, 1958) is an American film and television composer best known for scoring ''CSI: Miami'', '' Star Wars: The Clone Wars'', and ''Star Wars Rebels''. Kiner was nominated for multiple Primetime Emmy, Daytime Emmy and An ...

composed the film score, with former previously collaborating with Avery on ''

Overlord An overlord in the English feudal system was a lord of a manor who had subinfeudated a particular manor, estate or fee, to a tenant. The tenant thenceforth owed to the overlord one of a variety of services, usually military service or serje ...

'' (2018).

Lakeshore Records Lakeshore Entertainment Group, LLC is an American independent film production, finance, and former international sales and distribution company founded in 1994 by Tom Rosenberg and Ted Tannebaum (1933–2002). Lakeshore Entertainment is headquart ...

released the soundtrack.

Release

Streaming

The release of ''Samaritan'' was delayed several times, having previously scheduled to be released theatrically on November 20, 2020, December 11, 2020, and June 4, 2021. The film was released on August 26, 2022, in the United States by

and

, the latter having purchased MGM that same year, via streaming on

Home media

It will be released on DVD, Blu-ray & 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on January 3, 2023 by

MGM Home Entertainment Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment LLC (d/b/a MGM Home Entertainment and formerly known as MGM Home Video, MGM/CBS Home Video and MGM/UA Home Video) is the home video division of the American media company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. History 1 ...

; (through

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (formerly Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Video, MCA/Universal Home Video, MCA Home Video, MCA Videodisc and MCA Videocassette, Inc.) is the home video distribution division of Am ...

Reception

Notes

References

External links

''Samaritan''
on

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...

* {{Portal bar, Film, United States, Internet, Speculative fiction, Comics 2022 action drama films 2022 science fiction films 2020s American films 2020s English-language films 2020s science fiction action films 2020s science fiction drama films 2020s superhero films American action drama films American science fiction action films American science fiction drama films American superhero films Balboa Productions films Film productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic Films about terrorism in the United States Films based on American comics Films directed by Julius Avery Films not released in theaters due to the COVID-19 pandemic Films postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic Films scored by Kevin Kiner Films scored by Jed Kurzel Films shot in Atlanta Live-action films based on comics Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films