‘Samaritan’ Review: Sylvester Stallone Gets Superheroic, Sort of

Just like Gotham, the fictitious metropolis of Granite City sucks. As multiple newscasts tell us, there’s a civil-servant strike dragging into its third month, but widespread economic insecurity was already the norm. Dark, dirty, and crime-ridden, it’s not the kind of place anyone wants to grow up. So it’s no wonder that sweet tween Sam (Javon Walton, best known as Ashtray in HBO’s “Euphoria”) clings to any hero he can find — especially Granite City’s own dearly departed superhero: Samaritan.

Julius Avery’s “Samaritan” opens with a giddy monologue (with lots of candy-colored, fast-moving comic panels for the visual assist) from Sam that tells us Samaritan’s backstory, and Bragi F. Schut’s screenplay (inspired by the Mythos Comics graphic novels he created with Marc Olivent and Renzo Podesta) doesn’t hesitate to pile on the exposition. Years ago, a pair of gifted brothers possessed of super-strength and power were made miserable by the denizens of Granite City, who burned down their house and killed their parents in the blaze. Samaritan turned his rage into helping people; Nemesis went full-throttle bad guy. When they last fought 25 years ago, it’s believed that both perished in the full-scale fight to the death. The end?

Sam is convinced (for no reason other than he needs something to believe in) that Samaritan still lives. What happens when a kid — for whom matters of good and evil are actually life and death — meets his hero? Such is the thrust of “Samaritan,” which tries to reorient the superhero story outside the confines of Marvel and DC films, only to find itself trapped in uneasy mediocrity.

Things weren’t great when Samaritan and Nemesis used the streets of Granite City to battle out their demons; they’re even worse now. Unease aside, Sam has a dead dad, an overworked mom, and the family constantly faces eviction. Tucked away on the back door of his closet? Call it a shrine, call it “clues,” but it’s all Samaritan stuff. The most important piece is a running list of random dudes who, Sam believes, could be the possibly still-living Samaritan.