Samaritan

Samaritan is currently streaming in Australia on Amazon Prime Video, and in the US on Amazon Prime Video, and it earns its premise rather than just borrowing genre trappings. The runtime earns every minute, with nothing here that feels like padding. 2,223 people have weighed in on TMDB, and the verdict leans heavily positive. Watch it for Javon Walton — the performance elevates material that could easily tip into self-seriousness. Put it on tonight on Amazon Prime Video and see for yourself.

There is a reason Samaritan keeps coming up in conversation. What makes Samaritan work is that the ideas never crowd out the people having them. 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. Javon Walton and Sylvester Stallone lead a cast that never lets the concept overwhelm the characters. It hit screens in 2022. Samaritan resists the temptation to explain everything, trusting the audience to sit with ambiguity. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

Viewers burned by ambitious sci-fi that could not sustain its premise should give Samaritan a chance. It does not lean on comparisons to make its case. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Javon Walton grounds the bigger ideas in something human. Once you are in, you will want to talk about it.