Movie Review: Samson

Storyline from MovieInsider:

A Hebrew with an unusual gift of strength must respond properly to the call of God on his life in order to lead his people out of enslavement. After his youthful ambition leads to a tragic marriage, his acts of revenge thrust him into direct conflict with the Philistine army. As his brother mounts a tribal rebellion, only Samson's relationship with a Philistine temptress and his final surrender - both to the Philistines and to God - turns imprisonment and blindness into final victory.

So I requested this movie, not realizing that I would only be able to view a few scenes within a 26-minute span. If I had understood that, I wouldn't have requested it because I'm not sure I can give it a fair review without the whole picture. 

Based on what I can see, the acting is well done and the couple scenery shots are amazing. I have always dreamed of seeing Israel, so movies and stories set in that period are special to me. In Scripture, we aren't told of many emotions or thought-processes of the characters, so viewers will be cautioned that there are dialogues and conversations that are definitely added in. From what I could see, I thought the main parts were true to Scriptural events, so that was encouraging. 

Samson has never been a favorite character of mine. I always thought he was too flawed, though I recognized that God mightily used him to bring the Israelites to repentance. In my judgment of him, these movie clips showed me that as an Israelite himself, Samson would have recognized the One true God and would have prayed to God. One scene I especially loved was Samson's anointing as a judge. 

Judges were often given supernatural power and this movie also portrays that. It also demonstrates some of the judgment that God's people went through due to their rebellion and unbelief in God's power. The Philistines were not kind masters and it is likely that they suffered as the movie portrays. I'm not sure I liked the relationship between Delilah and Samson, only because they portray her as one compelled and forced into a relationship with him in order to trap and catch him, but then actually ends up loving him in the end. While there is no indication in Scripture for or against Delilah's love for Samson, it throws a somewhat unneeded emotional aspect into the scenes I previewed. But I cannot say for certain what my entire opinion is on that, as I did not see the entire show. 

One thing I had trouble comprehending was the fact that Samson was indeed powerful. While I have read his account in Scripture and mentally realized that he was strong, the movie demonstrates that visually. For me, it's easy to say "Oh, that's just the movie" or "Oh, that's just graphics". But no, Samson's strength was probably demonstrated in similar ways as the movie actually shows. So that was indeed a good reminder. 

The movie is rated PG-13 due to the fighting scenes, and as I have no seen the entire movie, I cannot say for sure what my opinion is, but I am interested in seeing the finished product. This movie releases February 16th.


*Film montage has been provided courtesy of Pure Flix and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.