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'Samson' the film hardly powerful
An adaptation of a biblical epic, Samson is about a man (played by Taylor James) with incredible strength given by God.
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A
n adaptation of a biblical epic, Samson is about a man (played by Taylor James) with incredible strength given by God. His task as the Chosen One is to protect his people, the Israelites, against their Philistine oppressors led by King Balek (Billy Zane) and his son Prince Rallah (Jackson Rathbone), who feels simultaneously threatened by and jealous of Samson’s strength.
As the popular story goes, Samson is betrayed by Delilah (Caitlin Leahy), who cuts his hair. Samson loses his power and becomes a prisoner of Rallah, until the now-blinded man begs forgiveness from God and finally takes his vengeance.
It is a well-known story that throws up no surprises, and sadly the film also does not do much to offer us something unexpected. It diligently adheres to the conventions of the religious historical genre: evil prince hungry for power versus good common man who happens to be immensely strong. Nothing surprises us and nothing makes us leave in wonderment.
Director Bruce MacDonald chose to present a rather stale depiction of Samson’s power. He is seen wrestling a charging lion, breaking down a wooden door double his size, and killing 1,000 soldiers one at a time using only the jawbone of a donkey, there is little there to provoke a sense of awe in viewers.
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God’s name is stated repeatedly throughout the film, more so when Samson needs protection and to escape from dire situations. This could be traced back to its production house, Pure Flix, which produces Christian and family-friendly films. That also means that blood and gore is kept to a minimum, as in the eye-gouging scene, where we are to infer what is happening through Samson’s cries.
Ridiculous moments in the film are abundant: mentioning sorrow and loss ever so lightly with smiles aplenty, beards so fake they would make 2012’s hipsters collectively grumble, or how Samson needs only a moment of walking in the forest or along the beach peppered with overused sentiments such as “Do you believe in destiny?” to fall in love.
The film is mostly haunted by its sluggish pacing and wooden performances; a result of playing it safe and abstaining from injecting complex human emotions into the characters.
Underneath all that, it is still a story you can watch if you prefer a film about a pious superhero with next-to-nothing special effects. There is that feeling of Old Hollywood epics and admittedly it is seldom boring. (kes)
