The last name I would’ve imagined to be listed as the director for Bad Samaritan is Dean Devlin. Known almost exclusively for his various collaborations with Roland Emmerich, and his tendency for high concept blockbusters, he goes for something different this time around, with Bad Samaritan being a more smaller, character-driven, crime thriller. It follows a young burglar, Sean (Robert Sheehan) who discovers a young woman chained in a billionaire’s house during one of his robberies. After failing to save her, and the billionaire in question, Cale (David Tennant), finding out Sean was snooping around, a game of cat-and-mouse ensues with Cale systematically destroying Sean’s life as he employs every attempt to get Cale caught.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Devlin is a Brian De Palma fan because a lot of the film feels like something he would’ve made 30-some years ago, and it would play in a double feature alongside something like The Hitcher. It’s a sleazy thriller with Hitchcockian undertones that is more than willing to get downright mean and dirty. I didn’t realize this was something Devlin had in him, and I’d be curious if he goes for something else in this vein.
Now, it should also noted that the film doesn’t necessarily live up to these inspirations. Not only is Devlin’s craft not even close to reaching anything De Palma has done, but even on a story level, it feels a bit undercooked and doesn’t add up to much once everything is all said and done. It’s one of those films where you find yourself raising questions and smirking about some of the actions taken by the characters. Some of the connective tissue doesn’t fully add up, and there are multiple points where the story could reasonably come to a close if it weren’t for some baffling choices being made. It also ends in a way that is a bit sudden, and doesn’t offer much closure to some of the smaller plot threads from earlier in the film.
However, I wasn’t ever annoyed at the film because of this. It probably speaks to my questionable taste, sure, but I think the film does a decent enough job at keeping me distracted from some of these larger issues during the runtime that I had a mostly fun time watching it. It’s mostly due to two things. One is the pacing, which is fast, relentless, especially once the intro is over, and the cat-and-mouse game has begun. The second are the performances, which in theory shouldn’t work as well as it does. Robert Sheehan is an actor most Americans might not recognize since he has mostly been in small, supporting roles, but I knew him from watching the first few seasons of BBC’s Misfits, which he was excellent in. He brings that same charm from that show, but with a level of anxiety, frustration, and vulnerability that actually works in grounding some of the more ludicrous plot elements. Meanwhile, you have David Tennant opening his eyes as wide as possible and delivering a ham-and-cheese performance that is rather glorious to behold. It’s not a deep performance, the character is a thin one, despite the hints at a compelling backstory, but it is a fun performance to watch, providing the kind of bad-guy-you-love-to-hate engagement with the audience.
If it weren’t for the back-and-forth between these two actors, I’d probably forget most of the film by the time I exited the theater. Even though it has some of Devlin’s trademark ridiculousness at times, it’s never escalated to a degree that makes it clear what he’s doing. The film is for the most part fairly straight laced, competently put together, and lacking in a sense of humor (although, there are some killer line deliveries toward the climax from Kerry Condon, who plays the captured woman). It’s a film that relies on the actors having the presence necessary to make the proceedings watchable, and that’s precisely why this was as effective as it is.
Bad Samaritan isn’t the kind of film I’d recommend you go see, but it is one I would recommend if you are having some kind of get together with friends, and you want to watch something that everyone can have fun with, this might do the trick. It may sound like a bit of backhanded compliment, but I mean it. Sometimes, trash just gets the job done in a way other films don’t, and this film gets the job done. I had a pretty good time, and I’m sure that anyone reading this will realize whether this is going to be something for them fairly quickly. I mean, hey, it’s from the guy who directed Geostorm, you should know exactly what you’re getting into.