Idris Elba has a knack of choosing films that don’t quite cut the muster. He is a terrific actor that never gets the great roles or stellar films. That’s not to say that they all are awful, but he tends to end up in flicks that don’t do the business. Beast is yet another bite at his stale movie cracker.
Not the worst set up, being stuck out in the wild against a man eating lion, but it really lacks any meaningful character drama to propel the story or make the situation that much more hazardous or intriguing. There is a whiff of an idea, but it is minimal, undefined, and vastly underdeveloped. This thin underlining of the film is more easily ripped to shreds exposing the black blooded innards with the suspensions of disbelief being so intense. There is so much untenable damage done to our protagonists and such leaps necessary for them to persevere that its hard not to roll your eyes.
It’s shown in the trailer, so it isn’t a big spoiler, but in the 3rd act, Elba faces down an angry lion. Just him vs 500 lbs. of ferocious muscle’n’claws. I couldn’t help but be reminded of The Grey, with its big selling point of “Liam Neeson vs. wolves”. The Grey had so much more going for it, with a tighter narrative, invested characters, and story arcs. Beast just lacks in excitement, drama, and believability.
The CGI doesn’t quite hold up, especially when it is so necessary. It is easy to give them a break and accept the supposition that this is real, especially when they somewhat wisely set much of the action at night (the downside is that the film is VERY dark and its midnight murkiness hampers visibility). I guess the plus side of it being so dark all the time is they aren’t obscuring a terrific story that you’d be missing out on.
Beast swipes at a formula that is easy to enjoy, but still misses the mark.