Beast review

BEAST: 

IDRIS ELBA BATTLES A LION IN THIS GRIPPING, BUT DISPOSABLE THRILLER!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Idris Elba in Beast

 

            Idris Elba (Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Suicide Squad, Sonic the Hedgehog 2) goes up against a savage lion in Beast, the new film from Baltasar Kormákur (2 Guns, Everest, Adrift). It’s the kind of film where if you’ve seen the trailer then you know what you’re getting into, and it gives exactly what it advertises. 

            For what it is, I had a good time. Undeniably flawed and probably not something I’d see again, but for a one-time viewing, I was exhilarated and impressed by the technicals…and not just the effects on the lion. 

            The film follows Dr. Nate Samuels (Elba), a widowed husband and father who takes his two daughters to the Mopani Game Reserve in South Africa for a vacation and meet up with his close friend and wildlife biologist, Martin Battles (Sharlto Copley-District 9, The A-Team, Elysium). But things take a dark and terrifying turn when a rogue lion and poachers survivor begins stalking the family. 

            Basically, what starts off as a journey of healing suddenly turns into a bloody fight for survival as Nate, Martin, and the daughters will need to use all their wits and resources to outrun the carnivorous predator and escape with their lives. Aaaand…that’s about it! 

            Yeah, this isn’t a very story-based film, nor does it have that many characters. At its core, Beast is essentially a monster movie except replace the otherworldly creature with a lion. 

            If you’re going into this expecting the Idris Elba equivalent of The Revenant with a lion, you’ll be very disappointed. It is not that kind of film at all, it’s a fun popcorn movie where Idris Elba fights a lion, and it gets the job done. 

            What’s interesting about this film is that the main star is not Idris Elba nor is it the lion, it’s the camera. I’m not kidding, the camera work in Beast is phenomenal with a lot of long, continuous shots that look like they were done in one take, a little bit of shaky-cams, and almost first-person perspectives, just the way the film is shot and edited makes it feel like you’re right in the middle of the action. 

            The acting is great particularly from Idris Elba and Sharlto Copley, As always, Elba is bringing his A-game to his performance and it’s great to see Sharlto Copley in a movie again. I enjoyed Copley’s work in Neill Blomkamp’s movies as well as his take on Murdock in the film adaptation of The A-Team and for a supporting role, he manages to make just as big an impression as Elba. 

            The action is exciting and intense, from the sequences where the lion tries to break into a car that Elba and his daughters are inside that are quite scary to the flat-out absurd final confrontation where Elba punches said lion in the face. Honestly, the scene where Elba punches the lion in the face perfectly sums up whether or not you’re going to like this movie, if you want to see Heimdall from Thor and human Knuckles the Echidna punch a lion in the face then you’ll probably enjoy it, if not, then you’re better off going to something else. 

            There are a few things that don’t work in this film though like some of the characters making dumb decisions like in a crappy horror movie. Also, they do the whole trope where the children don’t get along with their dad because their mom died, but in the end, they learn to love him again which isn’t done poorly or anything, it just felt like a clichéd dramatic element to get the plot going. 

            If you’re looking for a dumb, fun popcorn movie where Idris Elba fights a lion, then Beast may be up your alley. It’s a short and sweet survival thriller with a lot of intense action, suspense, and the right amount of stupid. 

            However, if you want the smarter alternative to this movie then I suggest checking out the 2016 Blake Lively film, The Shallows where she’s stranded in the ocean with a killer shark out to get her. Sure, it doesn’t have a scene where she punches the shark in the face, but it is a lot more grounded and restrained compared to Beast…plus it too has one of the most awesome images I’ve ever seen in a climax.