It packs its narrative with a succession of increasingly clichd twists, one of which involves the sudden recognition that its main character, Foley (Samuel L. Jackson), is romantically involved with his own daughter.

| Original Score: 1/4 | May 19, 2012

[Jackson's] doleful revenant is in almost every scene, and this hardworking actor seems to know that the film around him should be a light-footed caper instead of a grim noir with a side order of deviance.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | May 18, 2012

A scripted clich: the ex-con who wants to go straight until the plot kicks in.

| Original Score: 2/4 | May 18, 2012

"The Samaritan" proves that even Samuel L. Jackson can be boring.

| Original Score: 0.5/4 | May 18, 2012

The haphazard feeling of the narrative deflates any real tension.

| Original Score: 1.5/5 | May 17, 2012

Way too much psychosexual melodrama, portrayed in performances that range from utterly bored (Jackson) to embarrassingly broad (Kirby).

| Original Score: 1/5 | May 17, 2012

The Samaritan takes a jarring turn right out of Park Chan-wook, and from there takes a tumble into ludicrousness from which it doesn't recover.

| Original Score: 5.5/10 | May 17, 2012

Sets itself up as a crime thriller yet fails to deliver more than a twinge of surprise as it meanders toward a flaccid endgame swindle.

| Original Score: 1.5/4 | May 17, 2012

Jackson seems only interested in cashing his paycheck, even if it's not an especially large one.

| Original Score: C- | May 17, 2012

"The Samaritan" isn't a great noir, but it's true to the tradition and gives Samuel L. Jackson one of his best recent roles.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 17, 2012

Despite its exploitation ambitions, this Samaritan is good only for a last-ditch swerve into schmaltz.

| Original Score: 1/5 | May 15, 2012

Weaver's story slowly begins to buckle under the weight of its own self-seriousness and familiarity, concluding with a showdown and resolution marked by one implausible and unsatisfying been-here-done-that twist after another.

| May 15, 2012

If anything, this Canadian production misses a great opportunity to dig into its setting and examine the dark side of seemingly pristine Toronto, even as the script by Elan Mastai and director David Weaver labors over a mostly boilerplate storyline.

| May 11, 2012

Jackson carries all before him.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 20, 2012

Surely there were sheepish faces all round in Jackson's camp when they saw this?

| Original Score: 1/5 | Apr 20, 2012

It wants to be a nimble-footed con movie, but also a bludgeoning (and bloody) revenge thriller, neither of which it succeeds in.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 19, 2012

Good early running is seriously undercut by tiresome twists, predictable turns and a rushed, botched, improbable ending.

| Original Score: 1/5 | Apr 19, 2012

A rock solid Samuel L. Jackson adeptly anchors the twists and turns of this noir crime thriller.

| Mar 9, 2012