Samson (2018) Reviews

• Not even close to a faithful representation of the Bible

  starrywar2018-02-18

  I went in with an open mind--didn't read any of the reviews, etc. I wish I would have. They tried to make this a story about a humble man in love who made some bad choices, but that is not the story of Samson. Samson was a proud man who had been strong all his life (and took it for granted) and was driven by lust. I understand certain liberties here and there, but when they try to make the story about love and forgiveness, that is not Samson's story. The only time Samson asked God for strength was at the very end when he was blind and his hair had started to grow back. Then he asked God to give him strength one last time to avenge him for his two eyes. It was then that he killed more Phillistines at his death than he had during his life. I liked the actors, the costumes, the scenery. Discrepancies abounded: The dialogue from the Bible wasn't even used most of the time. There was a younger brother Samson never had. What should have been in the movie, but wasn't: Samson's wife had pressed him for the answer to the riddle for the 7 days of the feast (not just the last night) under threat of death from the Phillistines. Samson set the Phillistines cornfields on fire after her father gave her to his companion because he was angry with her(which was also not in the movie) After Samson's wife was burned to death with her father, he announced he would be avenged for the Phillistines killing her and that is when he killed them with a great slaughter. After the men of Judah "delivered" Samson to the Philistines is when he used the jawbone of an ass and killed 1,000 men. Delilah had been approached by the lords of the Phillistines and promised 1100 pieces of silver from each of them if she found out the secret of his great strength. Clearly, the woman never loved him, she was just using him. He lied to her several times and she said "the Phillistines are upon you" each time, and each time he got out. She got mad at him and kept after him until he finally told her his secret. She never had remorse for betraying him, she was only in it for the money. This was as frustrating and disappointing as the revisionist version of the Bible miniseries by Roma Downey and Mark Bennett. I never thought Christians would butcher the Bible as badly as Hollywood has (think of Noah and Exodus). I expected better from Pure Flix. The people who read the Bible and know the story will be upset (as I was) with the lack of respect given to the word of God. Those who didn't read the Bible before the movie probably won't after this to get the real story, but even if they do, they'll probably wonder why they didn't stick to the truth since that's what we're supposed to be about. If they wanted a redemptive story, they could have had it narrated by a father in the future Israel teaching his sons not to be like Samson who was driven by pride and lust.

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• Boring, tedious, bland and highly insulting to such films of cinematic history.

  authorcamilson-499-1568582018-05-03

  Samson (2018) - There is a reason MOST directors should never, EVER try to take on the GIANTS of film, such as Cecil B. DeMille or Alfred Hitchock. This is one such classic film that has been cut to crap by a amateurs. Being a remake of the classic Samson & Delilah (or whatever they want to call it) I found it quite boring. If you are going to "try" and do a remake of what that DeMille did, make sure you are worthy enough to step into his shoes. Even the scene where Samson kills he lion is very poorly done compared to the 1949 version. Story was full of plotholes and endless scenes that were non relevant to the actual story. This seemed to be a hybrid story to appeal the followers of Twilight at best. Boring, tedious, bland and highly insulting to such films of cinematic history. This version at the box-office worldwide raked in $4.7M only, while the 1949 version ranked in $29M in the US alone (nearly 300M today). What does that tell you? :) Rating: 0 out of 10. Rating for Cecil B. DeMille 1949 classic: 10 out of 10.

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• Do NOT waste your time....

  scate-669732018-02-21

  This was painful to have to sit through, torture basically. The bigger names that were in this were the only wavering grace, their parts to small to make this worth seeing. Over acting, choppy disjointed storyline, nothing flowed. The script, the accents, the screenplay horrible. Not worth spending a dime on.

• Wait Until It Comes Out On Streaming

  angelocollazo2018-02-17

  The screenwriters made a valiant effort of filling in story details which the Bible does not provide. Unfortunately, the dialogue and acting were often cheesy, particularly the main villain, named Rallah. That said, I was relieved the film was neither slow-paced, nor preachy. Overall, I give the film a solid C.

• So-so rendition upon the Biblical story dealing with the long haired strongman who fatally falls in love with tempter Delilah

  ma-cortes2019-04-21

  Last rendition based on the mythical brave hero who vanquished Philistines, but was finally deceived by Delilah robbing him his strenght by shearing his hair . Samson is a valiant and hunk judge from the tribe of Manasseh. His violent and troublesome existence is told in the Bible, books 13 to 16, book of Judges. Here are narrated the usual episodes about his life as his loving affairs, fight against a roaring lion , removing enormous doors, firing land and harvests, his impressive battle thousands of Philistine soldiers by using a donkey jaw , falling down the temple of Dagon along with the giant sculpture of the pagan idol and many other things. Samson had two vulnerabilities, his attraction to untrustworthly and treacherous women and his hair, without it he was powerless. These vulnerabilities proved to be fatal for him. Samson is the strongest man alive in Israel and he unfortunately falls in love for a Philistine girl, but after being rejected by the mighty hero, Delilah discovers his dark secret based on an incredible strength provided by the hair, as she informs his enemies and while shearing his curls. Known Biblical episode, being here decently narrated with some nice scenes and other ones extremely absurd and disconcerting. Spectacularly horny as well as corny tale that uses excessive computer generator effects, and Chrome digital visuals. Regularly starred by Taylor James as the bouncing Samson, Greg Kriek as his brother and gorgeous, charming Caitlin Leahy playing the tempter , vindictive vixen Delilah. But Jackson Rathbone as the astute Rallah steals the show as a nefarious villain. Other important secondaries are the very old Rutger Hauer and Lindsay Wagner as his parents. And Billy Zane as the mean and powerful king Balek. The motion picture was middlingly directed by Bruce MacDonald and Gabriel Sabloff. Other films dealing with this Biblic figure are the following ones : Samson and Delilah 1950 by Cecil B DeMille with Victor Mature, Hedy Lamarr, Angela Lansbury, Henry Wilconson. I grandi condottieri or The Biblical Judges 1965 by Marcello Baldi and Francisco Perez Dolz with Anton Geesink, Rosalba Neri, Ivo Garrani, Barta Barri, Fernando Rey. 1984 by Lee Philips with Anthony Hamilton, Belinda Bauer, Max Von Sidow, Stephen Match . 1996 version of the Biblical romance by Nicolas Roeg with Eric Thal, Elizabeth Hurley, Michael Gambon, Dennis Hopper, Jonathan Rhys Davies, Alessandro Gassman, Daniel Massey, Paul Freeman, Diana Rigg. Furthermore, this huge figure starred a lot of Sword and Sandals movies or Peplum, usually played by Steve Reeves, Reg Park, Alan Steel, Brad Harris, Gordon Scott and many others.

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