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Published On: Fri, Feb 16th, 2018

Pure Flix falls flat with ‘Samson’ but don’t blame Taylor James

Pure Flix returns with another faith-based film, an epic Samson tale, based on the popular Biblical events surrounding the God-empowered Jew who conquers the Philistines only to betray his oath with the Lord and be humiliated by his captors.

Samson stars Taylor James, a hulky Brit who doesn’t quite look the part. James is surrounded by an all-star cast: Billy Zane, Rutger Hauer, Lindsay Wagner, Caitlin Leahy and Jackson Rathbone. James’ Samson is at its best during the fight scenes: intense and brutal re-enactments of the Biblical war between the two nations.

Samson struggles with his Nazarene oath and a growing lust for beautiful women, with Leahy’s Delilah being his downfall. James is more coy than macho with his Samson and it was a strong point to his performance.

Pure Flix dared to make a theatrical epic film, avoiding a straight to DVD path, but overall, this daring project can’t live up to the expectations. This is no Gladiator or even Ben-Hur.

While James pulls off the physique and intensity to play the titular character, his youth betrays him, especially when he’s covered in a sub-par, prosthetic beard. The real tragedy though, lies with the creators.

Hauer’s role is forgettable, Zane phones in his Titanic performance a few pounds heavier in a toga and Rathbone is allowed to deliver a soap opera performance instead of anything moving.

Pure Flix may have turned the corner to expand their genre of films in theaters, but the studio will need to revisit the creative teams involved. Director Bruce MacDonald also directed The Perfect Wave, a miraculous story of God’s healing of surfer Ian McCormack, but it fell flat as well.

The worse part of Samson is the desire of the faith-based community, myself included, wanting this to work.

WE WANT SAMSON TO BE GOOD…it just isn’t.

Samson earns 2 stars out of 5 stars

Sadly, the film will be best used as a supplement to Bible study and screenings for the faithful. James shouldn’t be discouraged, it was a good outing for the young actor and Leahy’s performance was adequate. During our interview with producer Brittany Yost, she explained the script development, which arrived to Pure Flix “done,” so maybe next time, Pure Flix will proceed with more hesitation and outside opinions to deliver the grand epic we are all longer for.

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About the Author

- Writer and Co-Founder of The Global Dispatch, Brandon has been covering news, offering commentary for years, beginning professionally in 2003 on Crazed Fanboy before expanding into other blogs and sites. Appearing on several radio shows, Brandon has hosted Dispatch Radio, written his first novel (The Rise of the Templar) and completed the three years Global University program in Ministerial Studies to be a pastor. To Contact Brandon email [email protected] ATTN: BRANDON

Displaying 4 Comments
Have Your Say
  1. linda says:

    don’t be discouraged…Hollywood films are nothing Satanist crap…when someone tries to produce good films the first thing that takes place is attack…jesus said that they would hate us and they do but keep your faith strong God looks after his people who believe in him…I will promote pureflix to whoever I can….netflex has the obamas and some good lies…netflex is used for programming the masses which unfortunate, don’t give up God Bless

  2. Candy says:

    Taylor James does not look Jewish…I have searched everywhere and cannot find his race or heritage ….wondered if he is black Irish….Etc..ALL IT SAYS IT THAT HE WAS BORN IN ENGLAND…SEVEN OAKS…. could you find out????

  3. JENNA says:

    COMPLETELY DISAGREE WITH YOU. IT WAS THE BEST MOVIE I HAVE EVER SEEN. THE STORY OF SAMSON IS ONE I USE TO TEACH THE YOUNG KIDS TO GUARD THEIR HEART. THE BEST MOVIE EVER! MADE ME LOVE GOD MORE THROUGH SAMSON. MADE ME LOVE AND UNDERSTAND SAMSON. GREAT GREAT MOVIE. MR. JAMES IS CORRECT. READING THE STORY IN THE BIBLE YOU DO NOT GET TO KNOW THE CHARACTERS. I EVEN LOVED DELILAH, WHEREAS I H*TED HER BEFORE. I COULD UNDERSTAND WHY SAMSON GAVE HIS HEART TO HER. I WANTED TO YELL “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO” OUTLOUD IN THE THEATRE, WHEN SHE ASKED HIM FOR THE LAST TIME THE SECRET TO HIS STRENGTH. SAMSON, TAYLOR JAMES, WAS SO FULL OF RAW EMOTIONS, BUT HE WAS VERY SWEET, A YOUNG MAN IN LOVE AND A WARRIOR FOR BOTH LOVE & FOR GOD. MADE ME WISH I WAS A NAZARITE, AND DIDN’T DRINK. I CAN’T WAIT FOR THE MOVIE TO COME OUT ON DVD SO I CAN OWN IT, WATCH IT, AND CRY. I HAD TO REFRAIN FROM GOING BACK TO THE MOVIES ALL WEEKEND TO WATCH IT. I KEPT THINKING ABOUT IT ALL WEEKEND. I SAW THE ONE AND ONLY COMMERCIAL ON VALENTINES DAY. I COULDN’T BELIEVE IT. BECAUSE I JUST CREATED A TRACT ON SAMSON FOR THE BOYS. AND THE LAST MOVIE I SAW IN THE THEATRE WAS ANGRY BIRDS! I HOPE PUREFLIX WILL ALSO MAKE DAVID. OFF THE RADAR OF EXCELLENCE!!!

    • Brandon Jones says:

      Jenna,

      I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for your comments, they are always welcomed. If you enjoyed this, I’d recommend “Risen,” a historical film set after the crucifixion of Christ and keep an eye out for “Paul the Apostle” coming out later this year.

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