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"Plastic" is the best single word I can think of when recalling Samson.
In spite of a sincere and passionate heart that beats throughout, it still
turns out an overall hackneyed experience. Even the actors look
and act curiously artificial from time to time.
Based on the story of Samson
from the Book of Judges, Trevor James stars as the titular Hebrew He-Man. Since
his birth, it has been prophesized that Samson will lead the Hebrews to liberation
from those who have enslaved his people – the Philistines – with the help of
his remarkable strength. Though a faithful man, he is unsure of his destiny, periodically
questioning God and his destiny. He treads into romance with Philistine Taren
(Frances Sholto-Douglas), which brings about ire from his parents (Rutger Hauer
and Lindsay Wagner) – for a Hebrew to marry a Philistine is shameful.
At the oppressive throne are
King Balek (Billy Zane) and Prince Rallah (Jackson Rathbone). They learn of the
literal Godly strength of Samson and his potential ability to overthrow the
Philistine Empire. In spite of Samson’s diplomatic pleas for freedom, a manhunt
is summoned upon the latter.
Samson desires so very deeply to be a spectacular epic, but
possesses no ability whatsoever to be that film. I cannot find an estimate anywhere,
so this statement goes without concrete evidence, but Samson’s budget is too modest for its ambition. Set designs lack
immaculate detail and feature only the bare necessities to pass off what they’re
trying to resemble. Thus, pretty much every interior location looks like a set.
IMDb tells me that Samson was filmed in South Africa, so at
least there are some passable exterior settings. I actually really liked the setting
of the famous jawbone battle sequence. Unfortunately, the potential of the
on-location exteriors are underutilized due to uninspired cinematography at
best. At worst, during overhead shots of cities or other such busy locations, I
could never tell if the cities were real or CG, but considering that I was
always questioning the realness (or lack thereof), that says something about the sub-par quality.
The budget issues seep into
the performances. First off; Billy Zane and Rutger Hauer are the best the budget
would allow. Let that sink in for a moment.
Moving on, though: everybody either overacts or under-acts – the former is much more present. Jackson Rathbone is the most amusing guilty party of overacting. Rathbone gives Rallah a hilarious treatment as a slimy British quasi-sophisticate. When he’s being heartless and scary, his overacting just makes him seem amusing and adorable instead of the oppressive threat the character requires. On the other hand of the spectrum, all of the women in the film lack any presence, most disappointingly in Caitlin Leahy as Delilah, a character who was either conniving or internally conflicted of her intentions with Samson. In all fairness, the character’s motivation was confusing beyond belief – perhaps a less underwhelming performance would have clarified things.
Maybe unsurprising to some, but there is no subtlety whatsoever in Samson. The score, which is about as generic as you can get, is always sure to remind us when to feel happy, to feel sad, to feel inspired, to be thrilled – when we’re supposed to, anyway. Fancy photography and editing techniques add to this, with slow motion for emotional highlights, overbearing hand-held for battle sequences, even laughable split-second speed-ups right before Samson goes full berserk.
Speaking of berserk, epic battles are a key element of Samson. Keep in mind that these are all filled with the cheesy editing mentioned before. At times, these moments are passable (the jawbone battle was somewhat entertaining, for what it’s worth). Otherwise, clunky blocking plagues these scenes, such when a character goes in for a punch, it’s pretty obvious that they’re intentionally missing the adversary’s face.
The script not only lacks subtlety but also originality. Every line of dialogue seems taken straight from Biblical Epic Screenwriting 101. Everybody talks in typical Biblical dialect that comes across as generic throughout, and tends to induce eye-rolling due to the cheapness of it. Though I must say at least there was actual dialogue instead of sermon after sermon, which was the case in the recent Bilal (which, in retrospect, probably deserves a 2/4 from me for this exact reason).
Samson is the latest production from Pure Flix, the team behind the God’s Not Dead soon-to-be trilogy. Contrary to their reputation, Samson lacks the routine arrogant piety that is otherwise disturbingly prominent in their catalogue. This was a pleasant surprise that made for a tolerable viewing, but figurative open arms do not excuse a below-average production, no matter how hard it tried. There may have been passion involved in Samson (and it does show), but it was an undertaking that neither the talent nor the budget could allow, and the final result just feels cheap.
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