disappointment media
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • The Snake Hole
  • About

BEAST -- What More Could You Want Than Idris Elba Punching a Lion?

8/18/2022

0 Comments

 
Review by Sean Boelman
Picture
dris Elba as Nathan in Beast, directed by Baltasar Kormákur. Photo Credit: Lauren Mulligan/Universal Pictures.
Beast is the type of movie where, if you go in knowing exactly what you will get out of the experience, you’re unlikely to come out feeling dissatisfied. It’s hardly a particularly intelligent film, but as a ninety-minute thriller about Idris Elba punching a lion, there’s not much more you could ask from it.

The movie follows a father and his two teenage daughters as they get stranded in the African savanna when they are attacked by a massive lion hellbent on protecting its territory. The story is not too dissimilar from the killer animal movies that peaked in popularity in the ‘80s and ‘90s that had a star facing off against an unnaturally powerful force of nature. 

Admittedly, the film is entirely predictable. You know exactly where the story is heading. And yet, with a runtime that is just short ninety minutes before credits, the action is more than steady enough to keep viewers interested despite the fact that they will know the eventual ending of the movie.

Writer Ryan Engle attempts to infuse the movie with some meaning in the form of an environmentalist, anti-poacher message, but it largely feels shallow. Apart from setting up one of the coolest and most thrilling action sequences in the film, the poacher angle doesn’t do much of anything except lend itself to some bad dialogue.
Picture
(from left) Norah (Leah Sava Jeffries) and Nathan (Idris Elba) in Beast, directed by Baltasar Kormákur. Photo Credit: Lauren Mulligan/Universal Pictures.
The movie also forces an emotional backstory with a tear-jerking tale of the protagonist’s wife having died of cancer, leaving him a single father with two grieving and distant daughters. Ultimately, it ends up feeling a bit tacky given that the focus is on the action and there isn’t enough time to fully flesh this storyline out.

Idris Elba is a very versatile actor, as he is able to handle both more dramatic material and be a badass action star. Even though the one-liners he is being asked to deliver in this film are not particularly impressive in nature, Elba nonetheless exudes a charm and charisma that easily carries the movie. Sharlto Copley is also memorable and fun in his supporting role.

The CGI for the lion isn’t always the best, but the budget for this film is also surprisingly modest considering its reliance on the animated creature in the storyline. That said, it’s never laughably bad, and rarely ever distracts from the suspense, which is well-crafted by director Baltasar Kormákur.

Beast is about as lean of a survival thriller as there can be. Although the movie’s attempts at adding substance consistently fall flat, that is unlikely to be what audiences are buying a ticket to see, and it delivers on its promise of big cat action.

Beast hits theaters on August 19.

Rating: 3.5/5

               
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019

    Authors

    All
    Adam Donato
    Alan French
    Camden Ferrell
    Cole Groth
    Dan Skip Allen
    Jonathan Berk
    Joseph Fayed
    Josh Batchelder
    Paris Jade
    Rafael Motamayor
    Sarah Williams
    Sean Boelman
    Tatiana Miranda

disappointment media

Dedicated to unique and diverse perspectives on cinema!
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • The Snake Hole
  • About