Bad Samaritan is a thriller with a serial... something (not telling) at its center, David Tennant having proven he can do terrifyingly creepy with his turn in Jessica Jones. I don't think this performance quite achieves Killgrave's level, but it's in the ball park, a man of monstrous precision who will do anything to keep his psychopathic freedom going. Robert Sheehan (from Misfits and The Umbrella Academy) plays what he plays best, i.e. a sympathetic dirt bag. He's the thief who breaks into the villain's lair and is then haunted by the chained-up girl he couldn't save. It's a great premise, and both characters live in our technology-savvy world, but the film's techno-thriller elements don't prevent it from making good use of its wet, snowy Oregon locations. But though it definitely has its moments, it's not quite as suspenseful or creepy as it wants to be, perhaps because we're following too many people (including law enforcement), or perhaps because the villain's origin story is so thin. Either way, Bad Samaritan is a movie that's fun to watch, especially if you like the actors (given my predilections for SF, you can imagine I did), but it's not entirely satisfying.
The first 15-20 minutes of the film was quite interesting. The plot was simple yet enthralling - a burglar attempts to rob a wealthy man's house and finds a woman tied up. He then must decide whether to rescue her or bail. An interesting premise and nothing flashy or complex.
But after the first act the movie takes a real dive. The plot begins to get really complicated with multiple conflicts and problems arising one after the other. I wasn't sure what to focus on. It also felt like the film's tones kept shifting back and forth - like it was deciding whether it wanted to be a crime thriller, a revenge/action movie or a psychological thriller. It seems as if they tried doing too many things at once. If they took the "home robbery-rescue" premise from the first act and extended on that, this would've been a good film.
The acting wasn't too great - the main character's Irish accent seemed really out of place and the antagonist was really hamming it up, almost making some of his "angry" moments laughable.
And that terrible CGI horse in the beginning immediately lowered my expectations for the movie. Why couldn't they have just used a real horse??
Overall, an okay film with the first 15-20 minutes being decent. One of those flicks to watch to kill time but not nearly good enough for a second viewing.
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Siskoid
Bad Samaritan is a thriller with a serial... something (not telling) at its center, David Tennant having proven he can do terrifyingly creepy with his turn in Jessica Jones. I don't think this performance quite achieves Killgrave's level, but it's in the ball park, a man of monstrous precision who will do anything to keep his psychopathic freedom going. Robert Sheehan (from Misfits and The Umbrella Academy) plays what he plays best, i.e. a sympathetic dirt bag. He's the thief who breaks into the villain's lair and is then haunted by the chained-up girl he couldn't save. It's a great premise, and both characters live in our technology-savvy world, but the film's techno-thriller elements don't prevent it from making good use of its wet, snowy Oregon locations. But though it definitely has its moments, it's not quite as suspenseful or creepy as it wants to be, perhaps because we're following too many people (including law enforcement), or perhaps because the villain's origin story is so thin. Either way, Bad Samaritan is a movie that's fun to watch, especially if you like the actors (given my predilections for SF, you can imagine I did), but it's not entirely satisfying.Withnail33
A 3D horse...why..The first 15-20 minutes of the film was quite interesting. The plot was simple yet enthralling - a burglar attempts to rob a wealthy man's house and finds a woman tied up. He then must decide whether to rescue her or bail. An interesting premise and nothing flashy or complex.
But after the first act the movie takes a real dive. The plot begins to get really complicated with multiple conflicts and problems arising one after the other. I wasn't sure what to focus on. It also felt like the film's tones kept shifting back and forth - like it was deciding whether it wanted to be a crime thriller, a revenge/action movie or a psychological thriller. It seems as if they tried doing too many things at once. If they took the "home robbery-rescue" premise from the first act and extended on that, this would've been a good film.
The acting wasn't too great - the main character's Irish accent seemed really out of place and the antagonist was really hamming it up, almost making some of his "angry" moments laughable.
And that terrible CGI horse in the beginning immediately lowered my expectations for the movie. Why couldn't they have just used a real horse??
Overall, an okay film with the first 15-20 minutes being decent. One of those flicks to watch to kill time but not nearly good enough for a second viewing.
afan
Strong psychological thriller, but why did Tennant turn in Charlie Sheen in the end?