Summary of the Samaritan film

Samaritan is not your typical superhero film. It’s gritty and more of a love story between a reclusive father and a brave little child than a comic book extravaganza.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t action because villains are still defeated and heroic deeds are still committed. Since it isn’t as extravagant as films in the MCU, you should still enjoy the film.

What does the Samaritan mean?

The main characters of the film are 13-year-old Sam and his neighbour Joe, who Sam believes to be a superhero who passed away years ago along with his evil twin brother Nemesis.

It quickly becomes apparent that Joe does possess superpowers, but is he really the superhero Sam believes him to be?

Who is Samaritan?

We hear about two super-powered siblings named Samaritan and Nemesis during the title sequence of the film. Presumably not their real names, the boys’ parents perished in a home fire started by neighbourhood people who were terrified of the boy’s destructive abilities.

The siblings managed to escape the fire, but instead of coming together as a result of the experience, they vowed to destroy one another.

While Nemesis, driven by rage, chose to exact retribution on Granite City and his brother, Samaritan chose to fight on the side of good and defend the citizens of Granite City.

In order to accomplish this, Nemesis detonated bombs throughout the city. The only thing that could damage his sibling was the magical hammer he also made.

In the opening credits, Samaritan is tricked into a trap by Nemesis, but instead of defeating his brother, it appears that both of them perish in a huge explosion.

We get to see Sam, the youngster who still believes that Samaritan is alive, 25 years later. He begins to think that the solitary garbage guy, Joe, who lives in a nearby apartment complex, is the fabled superhero after Joe saves him from a group of thugs.

Not just Sam believes Joe is a good Samaritan. We also get to meet Cyrus, the local crime boss, and his gang.

Cyrus breaks into a police holding cell and escapes with Nemesis’ mask and hammer as part of his evil intentions to turn Granite City into a criminal superpower.

They also begin to think that Joe is a Samaritan when Cyrus’s men attempt and fail to kill Joe with a racing automobile.

Yet, is Joe a true Good Samaritan? Or is he only a man who desires solitude?

Despite Sam’s efforts to persuade him to act heroically, we don’t learn his true identity until much later in the film. But when Sam is taken away by Cyrus, Joe is motivated to act, and we finally learn the truth about who he really is.

Is Joe the superhuman that everyone believed to be deceased?

Joe seems to be a kind Samaritan. He demonstrates his incredible power early in the film when he defends Sam from thugs. We also witness evidence of Joe’s superpowers when he enters Cyrus’s lair to save Sam. So is he a good Samaritan?

Cyrus, on the other hand, thinks otherwise and mocks Joe by referring to him as the “nice man, Samaritan.”

Joe replies, “You keep calling me the good guy, though. The good man is not me. The bad guy is me.

Does this imply that he is not a good Samaritan?

The last conflict between Samaritan and Nemesis is explored throughout the film, which then detours into the past. Samaritan appears to be in control, but when given the chance to kill Nemesis with the hammer, he declines and discards the weapon.

Unfortunately, an explosion causes the ceiling to fall and the structure they are battling on to begin to crumble. Nemesis is the final man standing after Samaritan appears to die in a fall. He takes off his disguise to reveal that he is Joe!

As a result, Joe isn’t the superman Sam and Cyrus thought he was. He really is Nemesis!

Joe/Nemesis defeats Cyrus and his thugs in the present while protecting Sam from more damage.

Sam, however, refuses to reveal Joe’s identity when asked about the person who saved him, only saying “Samaritan survives.”

Joe isn’t a superhero, so what gives?

He may not be the hero that everyone expected, but he still showed his courage by saving Sam. Even if Joe was/is the enemy, it is evident that he has a redeeming quality (despite the fact that we see him throwing Cyrus into a fire).

Good and bad “dwell in everyone’s heart,” he assures Sam, “and it will be up to you to make the proper choice.” This illustrates the hero/villain within everyone of us as well as Joe’s ambiguous moral compass.

Joe isn’t necessarily a superhero, but he also isn’t precisely the evil character that Nemesis was thought to be.

Of course, Joe does have a choice after Sam reveals that he is a Samaritan. He had two options: revert to his previous position as a garbage collector or adopt his late brother’s persona as a Samaritan.

Joe might develop into a full-fledged superhero if a sequel is ever revealed, despite the evil that still resides inside of him.