As the summer winds down, there’s usually one or two more big profiled films that attempt to cap off the current summer movie season. The two big movies of August are undoubtedly Bullet Train and Beast. We’ve still got a bunch of movies opening up this month and for the remainder of the year, but it’s going to see the box office returns for the movies that come out until maybe the release of Wakanda Forever because Beast might be the last “big” release for awhile. Not to say that Beast was ever destined to be a major hit at the box office, but the pieces are certainly there for a smash hit, but despite having a big star and an enticing premise, Beast won’t be that movie. Nevertheless, Beast made its way into theaters this weekend and what’s fascinating about Beast is that it’s been sometime where we’ve had this type of creature feature. I’m not necessarily talking about films like Godzilla vs Kong or the Jurassic World, but straight up creature features like Crawl or the recent Hulu film Prey. With the right execution, these can extremely fun movies and we’ve definitely seen a resurgence of these types of movies from a bigger and smaller scope.
The creature features where the monster is an animal seems lame but having the approach of treating the animal as a devilish and murderous monster can be quite effective. With Beast, the trailers and posters were selling a fight to the death between Idris Elba and a Lion that’s gone rogue, and it spectacularly delivers on that pitch. Beast is a lean, mean and visceral creature feature. At a crisp and tight 90 minute window, the movie delivers on everything the premise promises. Terror, thrills and a sadistic and ferocious man eating Lion. The Lion, as a separate entity, is one of the best looking and memorable movie monsters in a creature feature in sometime. Like the shark from Jaws or the Predator, the Lion in Beast is a work of sheer spectacle. Each sequence that involves the Lion is a pulse pounding and heart wrenching moment that will leave you in a great state of dread and anxiety.
After dealing with the tragic loss of loosing his wife, Dr. Nate Daniels (Idris Elba) and his two daughters take a trip to South Africa where Daniels first met their mother. Upon arrival, Daniels comes across an old friend Martin Battles (Sharlto Copley), a wildlife biologist who accompanies Daniels and his two daughters and gives them an expressive tour around the area. What starts off as a simple vacation becomes a fight for survival when a lion, who had tragically separated from his herd after poachers wipes them out, begins to hunt them down.
Beast is a straight up monster movie and a B movie simultaneously and that’s exactly what one should expect from a movie like this. The only major criticism with the movie is really allowing yourself to suspend your disbelief based on what some characters decisions are. Movies like Beast will have characters say ludicrous things and act very foolishly, but that comes within the structure of a movie like this. Characters will keep a car door window open or perhaps the door will be wide open making it easy for the Lion to climb right in. There’s many cases like that in Beast and while it is wildly frustrating, it also adds tension and anxiety to the experience. Maybe the best aspect of Beast is its level of tension, which is crucial for a movie like this. It’s utilized very well and makes the runtime of the movie feel even better.
Beast is also impressively shot and staged. Director Baltasar Kormákur utilizes a lot of one takes and extended frames of the pride land in order to give us a full grasp of the surroundings, from a sense of scale and cultural landscape. It’s gorgeous to look at, especially seeing the Lion move at full force. Every sequence involving the Lion is a heart pounding and exhilarating experience that added so much more to the movie. Considering the budget of the movie, the effects done the Lion might be the best ever done for putting that kind of animal on the big screen. You feel his presence, the danger and ruthlessness even if it’s not on screen.
Idris Elba is great in the movie, per usual. Despite the character not really given much rich material, Elba does the best he can at conveying emotion and grit to his character and to the narrative as well. The two young girls who played his daughters were also quite well and the great Sharlto Copley, while not given much to do, was solid.
If you’re looking for an innovative monster movie then Beast won’t be that movie for you. But if you want to see a movie that builds up to Idris Elba taking on a Lion bare handed all by himself, then Beast is that kind of movie. The summer movie season has ultimately wrapped up and Beast does a solid way of bringing this season of movies to a close.
Final grade for Beast: B+
Zane's take at the Cinema's 