BEAST movie review

BEAST is directed by Baltasar Kormakur. The film stars Idris Elba, Iyana Halley, Leah Sava Jeffries, and Sharlto Copley.

Dr. Nate Samuels, widowed following the death of his wife, travels to Africa with his two daughters he has grown estranged from over the years. But their tour of a game reserve with Nate’s old friend quickly goes awry when the destruction caused by a lion, wounded by poachers, is discovered and the family finds themselves stranded. It’s up to Nate to protect his daughters from the vicious wounded predator shows itself.

I wanted to like BEAST; Idris Elba is certainly one of the greatest actors working in films today, and the other elements looked interesting enough despite my initial pessimism. Unfortunately, the movie is largely a case of “what you see is what you get.” It’s big, dumb, and obvious, with characters regularly making stupid decisions and being written inconsistently, not helped by some of the most generic “family drama” storylines you could ask for. A handful of moments entertain, but there’s nothing here that hasn’t done better in other movies, including Universal’s own JAWS and JURASSIC PARK.

Idris Elba is, hands down, one of my favorite actors active today. From Heimdall the Bridgekeeper in the MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE to voicing Knuckles in SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2, this is a guy I truly believe could play any role well. Unfortunately, even Elba seems bored in Beast, though this isn’t on him. His character is written inconsistently, cowering with uncertainty since he doesn’t know what to do to protect his daughter, to literally going hand-to-hand combat with a lion or stopping a snake with his bare hands. This isn’t Elba’s fault; had he been given better material to work with, I’d likely be writing a more positive review.

The young actresses playing the daughters of Elba’s characters are solid enough, and I truly hope these young ladies go on to promising careers as actresses. We see hints of their potential throughout the movie, though they again are bogged down by the generic writing, which mostly only allows them to be damsels in distress; though one of them had one heroic moment that got plenty of cheers and applause at my screening. Give these young ladies better movies, and I have no doubt they’ll continue to entertain.

BEAST can’t quite decide what it once to be. Attempts at humor in the movie feel out of place. The backstory is the most generic “broken family” one imaginable. Characters regularly make the stupid decision of “going it alone” when there’s a clear and present danger. There are some weird surreal “vision” scenes had by Elba’s character that feel more like they’d belong in something like GLADIATOR or THE NORTHMAN than this film. I’d be lying if I said the movie had no good moments; there are a handful of moments that I admit entertained me. It’s mindless, generic entertainment, and thankfully it’s over in about an hour and a half.

The screening I attended was very strange because several people brought young children, including crying babies. This was especially odd since it’s a violent R-rated film absolutely not made for young audiences. Did they think they were taking their kids to BEAUTY AND THE BEAST?

BEAST brings nothing new to the world of motion pictures. There are sporadic highlights and it’s at least a fairly fast watch, but the generic paper-thin characters, retreads of cinematic cliches, and out-of-place surreal sequences mean it falls flat. If you’re curious, wait for the inevitable home video or streaming release. Don’t rush to the theater.