Common Sense Media Review
By Michael Ordona
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Bible-based tale has bloody beatings, eye-gougings, more.
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Samson
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 12 parent reviews
Parents say that this movie evokes mixed reactions; while some praise its engaging storytelling and quality production, others criticize its intense violence and inaccuracy in relation to biblical events. Despite its R rating and graphic scenes, many viewers enjoyed the performances and felt it presented a moving portrayal of its subject matter.
- engaging storytelling
- mixed reactions
- intense violence
- quality production
- biblical accuracy
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
Based on 5 kid reviews
What's the Story?
In SAMSON, Old Testament hero Samson (Taylor James) is born under a prophecy that he'll protect the Israelites from the Philistines. His loving father (Rutger Hauer), mother (Lindsay Wagner), and brother (Greg Kriek) support him as he falls in love with a Philistine woman named Taren (Frances Sholto-Douglas). But super-mean Prince Rallah (Jackson Rathbone), who has daddy (Billy Zane) issues, can't leave well enough alone, and his interference leads to lots of fatal beatings -- mostly doled out by Samson. Later, Delilah (Caitlin Leahy), who's been hanging around the whole time and is deeply in love with Samson, inexplicably betrays him. Wrath and many more deaths ensue.
Is It Any Good?
This ain't your great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather's Samson; it isn't even your not-very-good grandfather's Samson. This film plays fast and loose with the Biblical legend, attempting to clean up some of the unsavory bits but keep enough bludgeoning to make Mel Gibson proud. Samson definitely lives in a Passion of the Christ-y world of extreme violence captured by way of lush cinematography, while attempting to do things like make the villainous Delilah sympathetic and Samson himself less of a homicidal maniac. But he still kills about 4,000 people -- 1,000 with the jawbone of a donkey, and at least one with a stomp to the noggin. Other key changes to the story include Samson's relationship with Taren being a love match, rather than a mission, and the skipping of one of his homicidal sprees. Also, probably due to modern awareness of animal issues, Samson's "fire-fox" stratagem (where foxes were literally lit on fire) is foggily conveyed.
The movie's character development and dialogue are straight out of a neighborhood pageant. And the villains are so very, very evil, killing people just for the heck of it. And bulging their eyes a lot. At least Zane, as the king, seems to genuinely enjoy chewing scenery. His response to Samson's warning of God's wrath (paraphrased here) -- "Are you threatening me with ... the weather?" -- is a rare highlight. And it's a pleasure just to see Wagner and Hauer. But as the main villain, Rathbone tries too hard. You can't blame him, considering the material, but a few notches up to full-on camp might have better served. Alterations and omissions aside, the film feels like a typical, if extremely violent, cinematic reworking of an Old Testament tale, complete with a heavily Anglo (and Dutch, and South African) cast playing Middle Eastern characters, with accents all over the place. The movie could certainly have benefited from more Zane-iness, but the seriousness of the brutality, along with the portentous music, tells viewers the filmmakers were in deadly earnest.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the violence in Samson. Were you expecting this kind of content from a Biblical story? Does the violence in this film seem justified? What's the impact of media violence on kids?
What did you think of the changes made from the Bible story? Did you agree with them? Why do you think the filmmakers might have made those choices?
How does this story relate to you, or what truths about the world does it reveal to you, if any?
Movie Details
- In theaters : February 16, 2018
- On DVD or streaming : May 15, 2018
- Cast : Taylor James , Caitlin Leahy , Billy Zane
- Director : Bruce Macdonald
- Studio : Pure Flix Entertainment
- Genre : Action/Adventure
- Topics : History
- Run time : 106 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : violence and battle sequences
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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