“Samaritan”: how is Sylvester Stallone doing playing a superhero at 76? | REVIEW

Perhaps to avoid being linked only to fists and force, Sylvester Stallone He has said on more than one occasion that, for example, his well-remembered “Rocky” saga brings together five “action with heart” films. Said expression, however, may have some support, since the introverted boxer of Italian origin who stars in it is not only a machine for producing blows, but fundamentally someone with good feelings.

On the characters that he played in his other famous films, each viewer will judge. With different results in critics and at the box office, “Rambo”, “The Expendables”, “Cobra” or “El especialista”, allow us to see the process of maturity of an actor not used to breaking the mold, but aware that on screen he had to always give your best. Although a mole in all this could well be “Stop or Mom Shoots”, a comedy released in 1992 that could be impossible to classify.

Now, to what extent are Stallone’s fans able to ask him for something new and better than the previous one with 76 years on top? Difficult company, the actor born in New York does not run to challenges and has just starred in “Samaritan” (“Nemesis”), the new action movie from Prime Video.

With a script written by Bragi F. Schut and directed by Julius Avery, this is an action film whose main character is Joe (Stallone), a trash collector with a worn-out appearance and without much communication skills. He lives in Ciudad Granito, a town in the southern United States where everyone seems haunted by the story of Samaritan and Nemesis, two brothers with super powers who 25 years ago fought to the death (representing good and evil, respectively). ) in a power plant.

Granite City (don’t resist making the Gotham comparison) lives on the brink of chaos. With a dark appearance and punished by drizzles that at times turn into terrible showers, it is inhabited mostly by families of humble conditions. One of these could well be the one made up of Sam Cleary (Javon Walton), a 13-year-old teenager who has not resisted the charm of the story behind Samaritan and Nemesis.

This minor capable of joining a stupid assault on a minimarket in exchange for a tip, is the son of a worker (Tiffany Cleary/ Dascha Polanco) whose main concern seems to be getting the money necessary to pay the rent for the month. Sam not only believes in the story of the brothers described above, but also tends to think that every new strongman he meets could be a Samaritan.

But since the good guy is not always the one who gets all the support in a story, Ciudad Granito is also home to many followers of Nemesis. Among these people longing for the return of the powerful villain and his deadly metal hammer is Cyrus (Pilou Asbæk), the leader of a kind of criminal gang that seeks to wreak havoc everywhere.

After introducing us to the main characters and their respective interests, Julius Avery’s film tries to relate them, not always correctly, yes. Sam lives in the building across from Joe. At the end of a street fight, it is Cyrus who ends up empathizing with the teenager’s bravery. Thus, we have a young man of school age at the intersection of the protagonists of the film.

Just as Granite City resembles Gotham City at times, Cyrus standing on top of a car and shouting cheers for anarchy (and the people supporting him, tired of the ineffectiveness or ineffectiveness of the authorities that govern them) is very “Joker”. But that is not all. The Prime Video tape also has Stallone teaching punches while he reflects on the futility of street fighting (very Rocky, of course), so any nostalgic could have a good time reminiscing about the 90s for 101 minutes.

By way of conclusion, this action film and urban superheroes maintains an even level. We all know that in the end there will be a confrontation between Cyrus and Samaritan, but an unexpected twist in the plot could leave us as surprised as Sam himself when he finds out who the person who thought he was his new friend really is.

In terms of performances, Pilou Asbæk stands out above all, playing a villain with little hints of nobility. The group of gang members around him and also close to Sam are the least that can be asked of a city portrayed as violent and without great aspirations. Finally, while it’s certainly forced to see Stallone jumping behind a car at the speed of a youngster, “Samaritan” as a whole isn’t a waste of time.

“SAMARITAN/ NEMESIS”- PRIME VIDEO

Gender: science fiction, drama, action

Country and year: United States, 2022.

Director: Julius Avery

Distribution: Sylvester Stallone, Javon “Wanna” Walton, Pilou Asbæk

Synopsis: Thirteen-year-old Sam Cleary (Javon “Wanna” Walton) suspects that his mysterious and reclusive neighbor Mr. Smith (Sylvester Stallone) is really the legendary vigilante, Samaritan, who was pronounced dead twenty-five years ago. With crime on the rise, and the city on the brink of

collapse, Sam is on a mission to convince his neighbor to stop hiding and save the city