Beast: Film Review
Idris Elba has proven his action-man credentials in films like Pacific Rim and Thor but can he hold his own against a lion? Well, you’ll have to watch Beast to find out.
He plays Dr. Nate Samuels, a recently widowed man who takes his daughters Meredith (Iyana Halley) and Norah (Leah Sava Jefferies) to South Africa to learn more about their late mother’s upbringing. During their visit, they stay with “uncle” Martin (Sharlto Copley), who works at the game reserve and takes them on a private tour. The previous night, a group of poachers killed a pride but one lion escaped and has now gone rogue, intent on killing every human in its path.
The whole man vs lion concept is incredibly daft and I expected Baltasar Kormákur‘s film to acknowledge that and revel in its silliness. I was looking forward to a tongue-in-cheek, perhaps slightly camp, survival thriller that knows it’s ridiculous, like Anaconda (which scared me a lot when I was younger tbh!) But unfortunately, it doesn’t – it takes itself far too seriously. It should have been more light-hearted and playful. People still laughed at a few moments but I don’t believe they were intended that way.
But despite that, I still had a lot of fun with this dumb movie. There’s more meat on its bones than I expected too – there’s a decent amount of character building and it explores the friction within the Samuels family. This gives the thriller a solid foundation and makes you care more about their survival. It has a couple of jumps and plenty of moments of tension when you know the lion is nearby but are unsure when it’ll next pounce.
The visual effects on the lion are really good. It’s not 100% photorealistic – I don’t know if CGI will ever get it that close – but it’s not far off. Sometimes if the effects aren’t good enough, it takes me out of the movie, but I never had that problem with Beast. The lion was always convincing enough, even in the ridiculous man vs lion showdown (it’s in the poster, not a spoiler) which you have to really suspend your disbelief for.
Elba very much takes his role seriously. Nate is still mourning the loss of his wife and figuring out how to reconnect with his girls and he fearlessly protects his daughters just as a lion would with its pride. Elba plays it totally straight, just like the rest of the cast. I also liked Halley and Jefferies as his daughters; they both contributed more to the fight for survival than I expected.
Beast is only 93 minutes and it absolutely flies by. The idea is very silly and I wish Kormákur had leaned into that but I still enjoyed this dumb movie a lot.
In cinemas from Friday 26th August