Rating: 7.8
“Beast” is the best “Jurassic Park” movie this year! I really enjoyed it, it’s an entertaining little thrill ride. And it truly does resemble a “Jurassic Park” film, it’s what “Jurassic World Dominion” wishes it was. Because this was a great way to do an “animal” thriller/horror movie! It’s very small scale and really stretches believability, but it worked for me despite its flaws!
Now, don’t get me wrong, this movie isn’t going to win any academy awards. It’s a movie that probably should belong on streaming, but if it did it would be one of the better streaming movies! Still, I’m quite happy I got to see it in theatres because oh my god… the tension is so good here! I was on the edge of my seat multiple times! This is especially because of the excellent cinematography, they brilliantly employed the use of long takes which really helped to put the audience in the scene and increase the feeling of claustrophobia as the camera turns everywhere looking for the lion. The framing was great too, it stuck to the characters back so we genuinely felt and saw what they were experiencing; it really puts you in the moment. Unfortunately, those moments usually require extreme suspension of disbelief. It really stretches believability when it comes to the lion, while also trying to maintain a sense of verisimilitude. There is a lot of plot armour on the characters and both the humans and lion should die multiple times… it gets a bit ridiculous but if you can get past that it is pretty entertaining!
The story is pretty simple, but it works! It’s got an intriguing “Jaws” like premise, but I felt it was almost like “Taken” but with the lion filling in for Liam Neeson’s role! (You’ll know what I mean when you see it!) I also was a little annoyed that the movie relies on some dumb decisions to be made by the characters… but hey, that’s how it always seems to go in these things! The script does feel like it is missing something, and does tend to unravel as the movie goes on, but luckily due to Idris Elba it somehow comes together! Elba carries this movie on his back, giving it 110%! He is good in everything he does, and you can tell he is really trying to make this script work, and he is the sole reason that you can emotionally connect to the characters. If it was any other actor as the lead… this movie would not be near as good as I found it to be.
I was also impressed with the CGI for the lion. You can tell its CGI, but I don’t think we’ve seen a lion done better before, especially for a lower budget film! The film clocks in right around 90 minutes, which was the perfect length for it. It’s very tightly edited so it is constantly engaging and entertaining. If it was any longer the runtime would very much hold it back. But luckily it somehow managed to be an entertaining film! It’s forgettable and flawed, but it managed to really surprise me and surpass my low expectations. It has some great tension, another great Idris Elba performance and delivered on its premise! Sure it’s not perfect, nor is it great, but I enjoyed it!
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IMDb Rating: 5.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 69%
RT Audience Score: 71%
Metacritic Score: 54
CinemaScore: B
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Universal
Directed by Baltasar Kormákur
Screenplay by Ryan Engle
Story by Jaime Primak Sullivan
Cast: Idris Elba, Sharlto Copley, Iyana Halley, Leah Sava Jeffries
Runtime: 1hr 33min
Rating: 14A
Adventure, Drama, Horror, Thriller
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A father and his two teenage daughters find themselves hunted by a massive rogue lion intent on proving that the Savanna has but one apex predator.
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Fun Fact: Idris Elba’s Daughter Failed to Land ‘Beast’ Role Because Their ‘Chemistry Wasn’t Right’
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