Samaritan

You know this was so close to being a good movie.

It needed more Rambo level violence, basically all the action scenes lacked a punch, I don't think I seen one person get cut. Stallones character was bottling up so much rage so to just resort to mainly pushing people was a bit of a letdown.

My main issue was with the bad guy though, I had no idea what his plan was, or why he was motivated to do it.

I'd pretty much given up on him as soon as regular people on the street start clapping him and following him into some kind of cult, who wrote that nonsense.

Anyway I'll end on the positives, it was a good idea for a movie and Stallone was great as a haunted has been hero.

Is this the best superhero movie ever made, hell no, is it the worst movie ever made, not by a long shot.

Stallone plays to his strengths here

• no long bits of dialogue for him to chew over, check
• some good action scenes, check
• vulnerable young kid for him to save, check

-some dodgy CGI, check

• twist in the end you didn't see coming, unless you are that person at work who sees every twist before they even start watching it, check
• actor who makes you say to your family, "who is that guy?, what else was he in?" Check
• laughter track, when you realise it was the annoying kid from Hannah Montana, and the only way he has grown in 15 years is the addition of multi coloured cornrows, check
• reasonably good supporting cast, especially the main bad guy, and then when you realise who it is, and what he was in, makes you hate "the dans" for ruining the end of game of thrones, because that's how Euron Greyjoy should have been

Joking aside, it's a good movie and you won't want the 2 hours back as wasted time, I'd be a happy man if Stallone kept churning out films like this till he enters the pearly gates, yes he's old, but would I want to pick a fight with him god no.

Well done Stallone sir, as it says in this movie "I'm a fan"

IN A NUTSHELL: A young boy learns that a superhero who was thought to have gone missing after an epic battle twenty years ago may, in fact, still be alive.

The movie was directed by Julius Avery, written by Bragi F. Schut, and stars Sylvester Stallone.

THINGS I LIKED: Who doesn't love Sylvester Stallone? I love the idea of him as an aging superhero. He does a great job and looks fantastic. What an epic career he's had.

Javon "Wanna" Walton stars as the young boy who pulls Samaritan out of "retirement". Don't let his innocent face fool you; in real life, he is a fierce, five-time Georgia State Boxing Champion and four-time USA Boxing South East Regional Champion. He's the youngest athlete to represent the brand Under Armour!

There is a sweet chemistry between Stallone and Walton.

The opening credits look and feel like a comic book, superhero movie. Well done.

I got a kick out of reading the boy's list of people he thought might be Samaritan. One of the notes he wrote said, "Pizza delivery guy - ran really fast." ha ha There's a tasty twist that adds surprising depth.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: "Take back what is yours" by stealing from others? That's what's wrong with society today. People think they're entitled to what others have worked very hard for with no thought of how their actions affect others. Of course, that's the mantra of the bad guys in this movie, but I'm seeing this attitude more and more in everyday life.

There are plenty of action sequences, although none of them are very memorable.

Some of the CGI isn't very good.

It's not entirely clear what Samaritan's or his brother's superpowers are.

Does anyone want an origin story?

TIPS FOR PARENTS: Profanity spoken by adults and kids, including an F-bomb Kids steal We see a shirtless man from the back with scars all over him Bullying A bad guy encourages others to loot and commit violent acts Violence Destruction

THEMES: Physical and emotional scars Being relevant Helping the innocent Service to others Aging Fear and courage Change Reputation

Yeah, he played Judge Dredd and Demolition Man. He was in Guardians of the Galaxy and Rambo is a Bonafede hero, but Samaritan makes me feel like I wanted to see the Italian Stallion (not a bad superhero name at all) as Batman or Captain America, and I know what you're thinking but still, something like that, not necessarily that.

I give Stallone credit for being able to be a selfless actor at times. He knows he's old and he does not mind playing the role of an aging action hero, which he did here so perfectly.

I don't see it as a blockbuster that should have come out in theatres. The fact that the movie revolves around Samaritan's relationship with a 13-year-old boy felt like he was trying to outdo big Arnold's lackluster, Last Action Hero, and it's even more predictable than a Rocky movie without the deep character dive that makes that worth wild Still, it triggered the child in me that remembers when Stallone made movies that might as well made him a superhero and the adult that consumed so many superhero movies that I just want to see the man suit up, for real.

I have no idea of the origins of the characters in the film, but being a Stallone fan I had to give it a watch. A great and stylish beginning leads to a decent and well paced story, with good supporting acting backing up Stallone and his usual grunty and menacing style (nothing wrong with that if you are a fan). The storyline is predictable of course, at least to a point, but that doesn't make it boring to watch, with some nice touches here and there and a few moral lessons thrown in for good measure. There are some good set pieces too, and a good ending. Overall then, worth a watch if you are a fan of sci-fi/superhero/anti-hero films and don't mind Slys "acting".