Not a bad movie, Overall.

Based in the Bible tale of Samson, it was more action packed and adventurous than I was expecting. Pureflix did a decent job bringing the tale to life. Taylor James is not the most intriguing actor. He definitely looks the part though, and that was important for the moments of feats of strength. Not the best movie or the best adaption of the story but it was a good film to watch.

SAMSON is a middling Biblical epic told on a budget that veers towards the low on occasion. As such there's a lot of CGI vistas in the way of ancient temples and cities and the effects are acceptable rather than stand-out. The film's low rent feel comes from the small scale action of much of the plot, with a magazine model-looking Samson going through the motions as he finds his strength and good nature utilised by all manner of nefarious characters. Sadly the main actor just isn't convincing at all and largely wooden and the supporting cast are little better, from a bloated Billy Zane to an underutilised Rutger Hauer in one of his final screen performances. Still, there's plenty of action (reminding me more than a little of HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS) and a satisfying climax, so it's not all bad.

Samson is the Hebrew retelling of the story of the sun god Shamash. Sun gods are quick to temper, lustful, and judges. They have long hair which symbolizes the rays of the sun and their great strength. They lose their strength in winter when their rays no longer shine and the sun goes blind.

The story left a lot to be desired starting with the acting and dialogue. The Philistines where shown to be far more evil than archeology would have us believe. The Samson character lacked the passion associated with the Biblical character and was rather serene by comparison. The script added details to the biblical tale in order to make a cohesive tale, yet failed in a very important aspect to stick to the story. The Bible does not state that Delilah cut off Samson's hair as the movie erroneously shows, but rather she instructed a man to shave off his seven locks (Judges 16:19). Didn't anyone on the set every read a bible?

Billy Zane plays a boring bad guy who gives us the British pronunciation of "privacy."