Samson is a film about the Old Testament titular character’s life story, God’s strong man from the tribe of Dan, and how the Philistines tried to oppress him and his people. Full disclosure: I would have paid to see Samson in theaters, but I don’t drive to see movies (Revere), and it was not so serious that I was going to take a Lyft so I had to wait until it was available for home viewing. It probably didn’t hurt that I grade Christian produced films on a curve. Samson may have been in theaters at the same time as Black Panther, but I’m not comparing it to its contemporaries, I’m comparing it to its peers. I saw two dreadful Christian produced films before Samson: Unconditional and David and Goliath. Samson is an outstanding film.
I loved Samson! I think that the strongest Bible movies are the ones that adhere to the original text while taking maximum advantage of the details left out to flesh out the story and breathe life into it. Instead of retroactively making characters from the Bible as if they perfectly followed God and always knew what they were doing, this movie actually leaves room for character development and manages to surprise even though the characters are well known. The movie gets progressively stronger as it unfolds. He goes from harmless, oath keeping Robin Hood to someone shocked by his own behavior and dismayed by his shortcomings. Taylor James’ performance gradually improves (more facial hair and unbraided hair actually helped), but early in the film, I began questioning why we always assume that Samson has to look like Jason Mamoa. Side note: James could play a live action Orc in Warcraft. God has got jokes. Wouldn’t it be more surprising to have a more average looking Jewish guy with long hair? The movie did find a way to plausibly have a valid excuse for Samson’s extracurricular activities so he seemed less dissolute than the judge appeared in the Bible, but considering how messed up our alleged leaders are today, I’m glad to know that some Christians still find the incongruity awkward.
My main critique of Samson is that I don’t think that the movie completely understood the role of a judge. It is not just how Americans think of a judge, but a title for leaders in the community who also were vested with the power to wage war. By making Samson become a judge after his first marriage as opposed to when he meets his wife is a mistake. He had power, but was more dominated with personal affairs and explains the flaws in his leadership. His actions were successful in spite of his intentions. This film convincingly casts Samson as an ambivalent hero after he becomes a more responsible adult, but it is a departure from the original character to make him more palatable.
Samson also ditched the misogynistic elements from the story. Usually films make Delilah seem like a heartless seducer who later regrets her decision because you can’t trust bitches, am I right, guys. She gets an interesting story arc that makes it plausible how she was trying to navigate some challenges and got in the middle of this mess. I thought Caitlin Leahy did a great job projecting emotion on her face, particularly pained frustration that her more diplomatic and less harmful approach is consistently rejected. She was a mash up of Lucy Lawless and Katie McGrath, but since most reviewers panned her performance, she may not be able to break free from her tv and Christian produced movie roles.
I came for Rutger Hauer and stayed for Titanic’s Billy Zane as the Philistine king in Samson! If I start running around dramatically saying, “To the door,” it is all Zane’s fabulous fault! He delightfully chews up the scenery and is a store brand Vincent D’Onofrio. I rewound and rewatched many of his scenes. He didn’t get the memo that you don’t have to work that hard in a Christian produced movie. Jackson Rathbone as his son and the movie’s villain is more predictable, but the writers find a twist for him too. His character arc is taken straight out of the New Testament as he gets personally invested in bringing Samson down as opposed to just another sadistic day in the office. Lindsay Wagner is Samson’s mom, but she doesn’t get much screen time.
Mom did clutch her pearls at the violence. Judges is a violent book, and Samson was a violent guy so shrug, long hair, don’t care. I was a little taken aback that the movie actually depicted the fox fire story, which made me realize retroactively that Samson was a creative sick f**k to do that to adorable little creatures, but those were cruel times, and other than the sound effects, we don’t see any cruelty to animals, and I applaud the movie for not holding back on the Bible’s brutality. I actually enjoyed the fight scenes. Sure they’re not as sophisticated as we’re used to, but they were fun in a Xena: The Warrior Princess kind of way. Everything is a little over the top and goofy in a wrestling way, but I don’t want it to feel realistic if you’re wrestling a lion. I like lions. I will add that I understand why the first set of people to confront Samson died, but I would not have been the last. Once losing becomes apparent, why would you put yourself in the line of fire?!?
There were probably a couple of storylines that could have been left on the cutting room floor: the backstabbing Dan leaders who never like Samson and/or Samson’s brother. We assume that because Samson’s mom was barren when she had him that she didn’t have any other kids, but it is possible that she did, and the Bible never tells their story. I know that he gets to be a foil to make Samson seem more kumbaya and can’t we all just get along with the Philistines as opposed to a revolutionary Hebrew from jump, but it felt a bit like an afterthought and extraneous to the plot. His most pivotal function is to prove that Samson loves riddles and to give audience an excellent Prince reference, “There are thieves in the temple,” which made me realize that I was going to love this movie.
If you like Christian produced movies and Bible stories, I highly recommend Samson. The more seasoned actors may run rings around their younger counterparts, but no one is dreadful. The younger actors may not hit the ground running, but they do their job. I’m sad that I didn’t get to see it in the theaters to gauge the reaction of the audience about a story of a man who tried to make friends with his oppressors then eventually gave up and decided that violence was the way. During the latest incarnation of Ben Hur, they were clearly uncomfortable and related more to the Romans than the Hebrews. Did Americans relate more to the Philistines or Samson?