Soon, “Beast” will hit the graveyard of great streaming. Say a prayer and move on. By that point, you’ve heard it’s a dud. There are some scattered laughs, some clearly intentional. But this is thin, unimaginative hack work, lacking the insane seriousness and commitment that distinguishes such bland dreks from delightful misfires.
You have a story, sure. Elba plays Nate, a doctor who takes her daughters Nora and Meredith (Leah Jeffries and Iyana Harry) on her one of her journeys through the world of cinema. His estranged wife has recently passed away and he and his girls are in mourning, so they fly to his mother’s home country of South Africa to meet his old friend Martin (Sharlto Copley). stayed with They’re there for recovery therapy or something, but given all the stupid and dangerous choices Nate makes, it’s hard to believe that the well-being of his children is the most important thing on his mind. Is difficult.
The movie is relatively short, and as modern Hollywood action movies go, soon Nate and friends are driving a car, screaming and running through the landscape with no cell phone service, and a very big, very angry lion. Director Balthazar Cormacour keeps the camera moving and spinning, but there’s nothing he can do to animate the story (script is by Ryan Engle). In between attacks, roars, and screams, blood and emotions flow and water dries up—as it always does. Elba looks and sounds very boring and knows how he feels.
One of the best things about modern digital magic is that wild animals no longer have to be subjected to human cruelty and nonsense in the name of cinema. Real animals are everywhere in The Beast, but the lions chasing Nate and the others are clearly computer-generated. As our environmental catastrophe reveals, there are reasons to attack people. The story repeatedly mentions poaching, but is less interested in animals. That genuine interest is conveyed by his T-shirt with the character’s “Jurassic Park”. I mean, I hope the animals get their revenge, but this movie alone should make them angry.
beast
Rated R for gun violence. Running time: 1 hour 33 minutes. at the theater.