‘Beast’ – Review
Hollywood megastar Idris Elba steps away from the glamour and charts his way out into the kill-or-be-killed wilderness of the African savannah in the tension-laced Beast. And this story of man vs wild will make you jump out of your seat with fright.
Recently widowed Dr. Nate Daniels (Idris Elba) and his two teenage daughters travel to a South African game reserve managed by Martin Battles, an old family friend and wildlife biologist. However, what begins as a journey of healing soon turns into a fearsome fight for survival when a lion, a survivor of bloodthirsty poachers, begins stalking them.
Noted Icelandic actor and filmmaker Baltasar Kormákur has become known for his unique talents as a director for moments of intense action and awe-inspiring tales of survival. Now his attention finds another thrilling canvas to be realised upon in Beast. Best described as a simple story of man vs wild, with everything stripped away except the will to survive, Beast is an exercise in tension, dread and fear. Its 93 minutes of screen time will leave you squirming in your seat as Kormákur plays with your emotions and spikes your adrenaline levels.
Flung directly into the middle of Beast’s impressive scares is Hollywood A-lister Idris Elba. Elba lets go of all the glamour of Tinseltown and jumps headfirst into the blood and muck of the jungle as he squares off against a man-eating lion. Elba’s character of Dr Nate Daniels, a widowed doctor with two teenage children from who he is estranged leaves him as a very flawed character. And when things go to hell courtesy of a wild and ferocious predator who has a taste for human blood Elba steps up big time as Dr Daniels. And it all comes down to the will to survive. With the clock ticking and time and resources running out, Elba has to confront the darkness head on, and Beast takes a turn into sheer tension as he has to contend with an environment that literally wants to eat him alive.
In terms of a sheer action experience, Beast nails the approach right from the start. Finding themselves lost on the safari from hell, Elba’s Dr Nate Daniels and his children are soon the prey in a deadly stalking game and the ferocity of this untamed wild lion will spike your adrenal glands. With an almost documentary-kinetic filmmaking style, Kormákur and his team place their audience right in the heart of the terror, and the attention to detail and rendering of this bloodthirsty lion will make you jump. The exotic sounds of the jungle also hype up the anxiety of the moment, and Kormákur’s unique pacing teases out the suspense of the story.
One thing Beast does right is that it continues to throw hurdles and challenges at Elba’s Dr Daniels, while also having him fight with the emotional pain of his past. He’s a man who’s made bad choices in his life, and his fight in this life-or-death situation is almost a way of him trying to atone for these past mistakes. This mix of drama and action keeps the film’s beats exciting, and moment by moment the hunt continues. Whenever you think Dr Daniels has finally made it to safety the lion returns, and this leads to one bloody and raucous final act that gives new meaning to the phrase ‘rip-roaring action’.
If you’re thinking you might be in need of a safari getaway, Beast might make you think again. This film is an unstoppable rush of action, and it will have you on edge from beginning to end in the fight between man and beast.
Image: Universal Pictures
