Beast (I) (2022) User Reviews

Sleep Mode Not Beast Mode. Rule #342 of Bad Movies: Kids In Survival/Disaster Films Are Totally Annoying!

[RightOnDaddio · 6/10 · 24 August 2022]

I had high hopes for this film. The trailer seems interesting enough. Idris Elba and Sharlto Copley are always good in their roles and here it's no different. This movie just doesn't have it. I wanted to like it. I tried so hard to like it, but ultimately it doesn't do its job. It doesn't strike fear into the hearts of men or anyone else for that matter. It does, however get on your last nerve. All because of the kids in this movie. It's always the kids. The kids, as in other films, get in the way. They distract. They do stupid stuff. They say stupid stuff at tense moments thus shattering said tension. As already stated, not even Elba or Copley can spiff this baby up. It's a mess.

You won't care about the family relations in this film.

You'll even feel sorry for this Lion. He has his reasons for this rampage and they're pretty solid reasons. So, go lion!

This could've been so much better.

The bear attack in The Revenant.

The gators in Crawl.

I'm not even going to bring Jaws into this.

Even the chimpanzee in Nope.

Much more realistic scenes of animals attacking humans.

A movie like this strongly depends on two things, belief in the characters and their love and connection to each other. And true terror from the creature involved.

This movie evokes neither.

Go see Nope instead.

Cheap thrills

[shweta-51657 · 7/10 · 18 August 2022]

I know when the trailer came out, we were all thinking of the GOOD 90s flick with lions in it, but, sorry, this is not The Ghost and the Darkness.

While this isnt in the same league, I am going to be honest and say I really enjoyed it. Its pretty entertaining, decent cinematography, good background music, half way decent jumpscares and thrilling scenes, overall I got a good evening out of it.

Just leave your brains out the door, because you have Mr. Idris Elba try and literally punch a lion in this film.

So fair warning, its a popcorn film, but a decent one in that. 3.5/5.

Off, this hurts!

[atmegh · 15 August 2022]

Why isn't Idris Elba getting better roles? He's better than this nonsense!

I adore him and don't want to see him on crappy roles; I don't want to waste time watching him in these silly films.

Does anyone know why he's not getting better parts or a good star vehicle? I need to know!

Old School Action Drama

[Zeus-pro · 6/10 · 15 August 2022]

Beast isn't highbrow cinema at all. The movie knows the kind of film it is and then goes and tries to elevate it by coming up with really solid technical proficiency and great acting. The movie is just 90 minutes long, so it knows that it shouldn't overstay its welcome. The ending might come off as a bit underwhelming thanks to its abrupt nature. However, the film is great entertainment and everybody should give it a chance when in the mood for a simple and straight-to-the-point kind of movie.

An African survival safari with Idris Elba and a bloodthirsty lion.

[movieman6-413-929510 · 6/10 · 14 August 2022]

Beast is a new survival thriller directed by Baltasar Kormákur, the director of 2 Guns and Everest.

The film is about Dr. Nate Daniels (Idris Elba), who, after the death of his ex-wife, takes his daughters to the South African savannah to the place where he met his ex. They are accompanied here by Nate's friend Martin Battles (Sharlto Copley), who often leads safaris for tourists.

During the safari, Martin learns that something is wrong and learns that a bloodthirsty lion has attacked the local village and killed most of the inhabitants. When they come into contact with this lion, they are quickly seen as his new prey. Now they must hide in the safari jeep and the lion survive its attacks until help arrives. Otherwise, they have to find a safe way on their own before coming face to face with the brutal lion.

With the 2015 film Everest, Baltasar Kormákur also tried to make a survival thriller about people who tried to reach the top with the cold temperatures around Mount Everest. He had made that film a bit too big with too long a running time, so you had to go through the preparations of the mountaineers for about the first half of the film before they even started climbing the mountain. He provided some long-winded moments in this film.

With his new film Beast, with a shorter running time, he presents a more exciting survival thriller about a family that has to survive in the warm savannah while they are constantly attacked by a lion. Survival thrillers about lions have become more popular since the film The Ghost and The Darkness, but with films such as Prey from 2016 or Rogue from 2020, due to lesser storylines or visual effects, they have always been difficult to succeed. Despite the fact that Beast has a simple story with the accompanying clichés from survival thrillers and also has nice, but not always the most believable visual effects, they still manage to provide an entertaining and exciting survival thriller.

Idris Elba manages to carry the film well as the main character, who tries to improve the bond with his estranged daughters after a tragic experience. Iyana Halley and Leah Jeffries also know how to portray the two daughters in an appropriate way. One does have more acting experience than the other, but this is also due to the standard story of the film. It is also nice to see the South African actor Sharlto Copley in this film as a South African safari guide, who knows the areas and animals well.

Beautifully shot in the real African savannah, the film shows beautiful images of these landscapes and of the different animal species that live here. This way the film can come across as if you are really on a safari in the African savannah and you will also learn the necessary information about these areas and animal species. The film also responds somewhat to the current problems of the African natural landscapes and the different animal species that live here. So they try to draw some attention to this.

Decent 6/10.

[Sablam · 6/10 · 14 August 2022]

The movie had some decent moments. Elba and Copley were nice to watch. Kinda reminded me off the oldschool (animalhuntsyou)action movies. Was kinda predictable but that doesnt bother me with this kind of film. I feel people are a but overreacting with their low scores and their 'the movie was so unrealistic' reviews. If the movie took the realistic route it would've been very boring.. Just take a snack and a drink, sit back and relax. An ideal 'chilltime' action flick!

6/10!

Feed the beast

[eric-312-417476 · 2/10 · 20 August 2022]

Ridiculous, annoying actor/character actions will make you want to feed these people to the lion. Especially the older daughter. I've not been this annoyed by a character in a long time. I think we are supposed to feel for her plight and her fear but all I wanted to do was to make her shut up. Even before the lion came.

And then There are the contrivances that are necessary because had these characters had brains they wouldn't be in as much trouble. We are a step Ahead of every jump scare, every plot point, every action. It's as if the writer and director have never had an original thought.

I've never thought Cujo was a great movie but at least you wanted the people to survive.

Entertaining

[hammerofthehouse · 8/10 · 19 August 2022]

This movie kept my attention for the duration of the entire film. There were several moments when the audience was jump scared, me included. Suspend your disbelief and just enjoy.

Entertaining

[iammustaf_a · 6/10 · 20 August 2022]

I watched this in 4DX, with moving chairs and extra immersion techniques in the theater. It was fun and mindlessly entertaining. Good to watch on a summer weekend where there's nothing else to do. I'd watch it again on TV. Also, I feel Idris Elba starred in this movie purely to solidify his chances for Bond. He's made this movie well worth it.

The writers/director clearly have never owned a cat

[FeastMode · 2/10 · 24 August 2022]

Other headlines I thought about using are "Rooting for the lion" and simply "Idiots." This movie is so dumb. And this is coming from someone who frequently enjoys dumb stuff. I'm the target audience for this type of movie. Yet I couldn't stop noticing how dumb everything was.

And there is a variety of dumb. The most obvious are the idiots that fill this movie. It's staggering the amount of times a character does the worst possible thing. Don't get me started on the forced family drama. It made me want the lion to eat them.

But the parts that annoyed me the most have to do with the lion. The people who made this movie either did zero research on lions, or didn't care and assumed the audience is stupid. They hope you don't know that cats can see in the dark. Or that cats can smell their prey. Or that cats have a keen sense of hearing.

(Infomercial voice) And that's not all! This lion can almost fit its entire head under a car, but doesn't use his arm to reach. Cats can reach at least half the length of their body with their arm. Also, this lion has a thousand chances for killshots and decides not to take them.

This is turning into a rant, but I can't help it. Cats are lethal predators. Even little house cats HUNT AND DESTROY without mercy. This lion has to be the worst lion in the history of lions. Apparently this lion's weakness is small knives. Ugh. That would be like fighting a linebacker with a needle.

Why not take advantage of the R-rating? This is the perfect kind of movie to go extra bloody and violent. But it's so tame. Why did they CG the humans in scenes with CG lions? It's very noticeable. Why is this listed as horror? It's not scary.

In conclusion... terrible movie. I left the theater thinking 3 stars, but after writing this review, it's a 2. (1 viewing, UltraScreen 8/23/2022)

The Ghost and The Darkness... not

[kaintrust · 14 August 2022]

Up to this day The Ghost and The Darkness is the top movie for me for lion survival movies. What made it so great was the story itself. 2 male lion made a bloodbath in their era.

There was no option for me to compare each other. This movie is not based on real story like The Ghost and The Darkness but still it is dull. I really like Idris Elba's acting in general but even he couldnt save it and in fact he kind of underplayed his role. CGI lion was like a kitten, that made me think all the budget went to Idris and they made the CGI lion whatever left from the budget.

Perfectly entertaining for what it is

[ethanbresnett · 6/10 · 8 September 2022]

Beast doesn't really offer up many surprises. There's a rogue bloodthirsty lion chasing Idris Elba and his family through the wilds of South Africa. If that doesn't sound like your cup of tea then this film won't be for you, as there is no depth or complexity beyond this simple premise.

Simple is not meant as a slight however. Simple and effective I would say of this film. There is a decent amount of tension, an engaging performance from Elba, and some gorgeous shots of the African landscape. The pacing is pretty spot on too, which is a huge relief in a film like this, where there can be a tendency for things to drag.

One of my big pet peeves, and it's a common pitfall of this genre, is for characters to commit truly bonkers and frustrating acts which are very annoying to watch. "Stay in the car". Character proceeds to inexplicably leave the car for no reason etc etc. When a murderous lion is on a rampage there's no need to force tension through moronic character decisions, and there are too many examples of this in Beast. These cheap ways of creating tension do weaken the overall experience and make it hard to warm to the characters in some ways.

There are definitely better films out there in this genre, such as Crawl or The Shallows, but Beast does a pretty solid job of creating a tense experience, even if it never quite manages to truly excite.

My worst nightmare

[jtindahouse · 7/10 · 14 September 2022]

Experiencing this movie would be a living hell for me. Give me a serial killer chasing me over this any day of the week. When your only escape from a lion is to wade deep into an African swamp that you've recently seen crocodiles and snakes plunge into, kill me now Mr Lion. This movie was a fun ride.

At first I was a little worried the children were going to annoy me. Their introductions were quite annoying. They seemed like bratty teenagers. But as the film went along they mellowed out and actually became a decent addition to the film.

The lion in this movie is constructed very much like any other horror movie villain. It can be heard from miles away when it needs to be, and yet it can also sneak up on people out of nowhere and just appear. It's an elite hunter when it needs to be, however when the main family are the ones in danger it becomes completely clueless and can't see/smell them from a metre above its head. It can be quite frustrating to watch at times.

The CGI on animals doesn't seem to have been perfected yet. I guess it's because we've all seen so many animals in our lives that we know exactly how they should look. The lions in this movie do look disappointingly fake though it has to be said.

'Beast' was a decent watch. It's a fairly safe film for the most part, but it doesn't overstay its welcome and it's reasonably entertaining for the majority of the 90 minutes. 7/10.

Tense and gripping, poor character decisions

[whatgift · 7/10 · 16 September 2022]

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this, but was pleasantly surprised - it is a well acted, beautifully shot and fast paced thriller!

The lion, while clearly CGI, looks good and is mostly believable, and the tension that came with its random appearances had everyone in the theatre I was in mesmerised. The viewer, like the characters, are trying to relate to one another while constantly thinking how they are going to escape the situation and what the lion might do next.

It is let down by several monumentally stupid decisions made by the main characters, including the lion. There's also some cliched elements in the story.

Well worth the watch despite its shortcomings.

I was fuming

[AfricanBro · 3/10 · 19 August 2022]

I had to rewrite this because the first one was more of a rant with spoilers. You know those moments someone attempts to be a hero and somebody else goes "you're either really brave, or really stupid", well this is full of the latter. All the main actors keep making the most illogical decisions and the beast hunting them's actions also didn't make sense. Somebody said the writers think we're stupid. Idris Elba deserves better than this, even he couldn't save it. The script sucked, tries to hold emotional weight at times but it either falls flat or feels forced, especially from the stubborn daughter. Camera work sucked too, it looked like it was filmed by a regular guy walking around with a camera, not a professional especially when following in tight spaces, it was unstable. At times, it's like those videos of a school fight and the person recording keeps moving around and it's just commotion. It also starts out like a horror and is full of jump scares, still deciding if that's a good thing or not. I however loved that they cast locals for this, because that "African accent" Hollywood likes to use bugs me because I've never met anyone who speaks like that; like some director in the 80's decided this is how we sound and Hollywood still oblivious to it years later. So points for the accent. But the movie's still not worth the watch, it's just a family with really bad survival instincts and I haven't been this infuriated during a movie in recent memory. One of those movies that makes you wanna reach into the screen and knock some sense into the characters.

Another solidly (albeit cliche) crafted creature feature with great performances and safari scenery.

[tresm87 · 7/10 · 12 August 2022]

Seems like the creature feature genre has been bolstered of late in the last 5 years or so. Sure we will always have shark attack, godzilla, and kong films but it's nice to see a return to other beasts of a different breed for the thriller genre. We had these by the dozen in the 80s and 90s, so films like Crawl and Beast are a great throwback imo.

Idris Elba was a perfect choice for this particular setting and circumstance and shows great versatility and intensity once again. The safari dangers are out on full display with supreme environmental effectiveness. Sharlto Copley is once again one of the most underrated actors around and adds a great element to the overall product. The cgi is standard but it does the trick. Plotting is definitely by the numbers but that's to be expected.

Overall it's a solid offering in the creature feature genre that doesn't break any new ground but is none the less a fun ride.

I like these type of movies

[donumdei · 10/10 · 24 September 2022]

I don't understand all these people complaining how lion is not doing this or that. I mean if the lion killed everyone first attempt movie would be 20 min tops. I love Wild animal movies and this was a good one, better than most. I agree with everyone that the oldest daughter is super annoying and stubborn but these type of movies always have one annoying character. I love Africa and specially lions. This is cool movie just don't be judgmental and don't expect realism, it's not supposed to be documentary.

Just watch it, cool nature and awesome lion. I don't know what else to write. I just have to fill up 600 characters.

Savage Lion King

[Pairic · 7/10 · 30 August 2022]

Beast: I won't lionise Idris Elba but he's pretty nifty as Nate who fights a rogue lion. There is some family filler as well, he's a widower with two troubled teen daughters, the three of them visit a animal reserve in South Africa near where Nate's wife grew up. The lion goes rogue because poachers killed the rest of his pride. He displays the odd behaviour that has been recorded in only a few cases - attacking humans without provocation, killing them and not eating them afterwards. Some great scenes of fighting off a lion who tries to get into a crashed land rover, this is Jaws on land, existential terror as the lion tries to bite you through the windows. The lion takes his prey silently when he chooses but will get loudly in your face as well. The chase/battle continues outdoors and in the confines of a ruined church. Maybe the real beasts are the poachers though. I felt like cheering as the lion chomped on them. Not a classic but there are some good jump scares and the drama is maintained rising to tension at appropriate points. Directed by Baltasar Kormákur from a screenplay by Ryan Engle. 7/10.

Solid movie

[imvaughn · 7/10 · 20 August 2022]

Don't pay attention to the movie snobs. Move was good. Will it win any Oscar's no, but it isn't designed to. It's designed to be an action packed thriller. Movie starts off a little slow like most movies do for character development. After that it's pretty much action. Entertaining movie.

A beast is coming!

[jp_91 · 7/10 · 16 August 2022]

"Beast" is an interesting horror and suspense movie, although its script is not new, it works well in terms of entertainment, as well as including a successful social criticism (something typical in natural horror films). The performances are well done, they convince and you feel concerned about the protagonists. The cinematography is a great success, being fully exploited in the filming locations. A very noticeable flaw is that the computer generated effects look too obvious on several occasions, detracting from the realistic factor. An entertaining movie with no pretensions.

Stupid

[terrejolly · 2/10 · 25 August 2022]

Seriously, this was hilarious, unfortunately, I don't think that's intentional. When a lion is preying, don't get out of the fu$&ing car! Or leave the windows open. Or argue about a carriage ride from last year.

This movie is an insult to the intelligence of lions and to the audience. I'm embarrassed for Idris Alba, this is a pathetic mess. And the two teenagers in the movie must be related to the producers, neither was even convincing as petulant teenage girls. I honestly was rooting for the lion to take me out of the misery of watching.

But, just like a train wreck, it's hard to stop watching.

Good Survival Thriller

[Joshumms · 7/10 · 21 August 2022]

Kind of a surprise for me. The 3 best things about this movie is Idris Elba's acting, the thrills, and the cinematography. While the characters are all basic this is still a very well done survival horror thriller.

I had no expectations going in but holy damn was that bad

[nscoby93 · 3/10 · 20 August 2022]

There's not a lot of good here so let's get straight to what little is done right. The first act is what carries this film, it was so well done and entertaining. The scenery and establishing shots of the African landscape were beautiful it made me wish I was watching this film on a bigger screen. The introduction to these characters was fine enough, I was intrigued to learn more. Idris Elba was great he's a fine actor, his co-star Sharlto Copley was great in his supporting role they both had great chemistry. This first act culminates in a fantastic scene where this village is massacred, it made for some great tension some horrific scenery.

Unfortunately after the entertaining first act this film just takes a massive dive, the amount of disbelief and the sheer stupidity of these characters was just astounding. Nate's daughters (Idris Elba) are absolutely inept, making the most ridiculous and downright idiotic choices. I can't count how many times I rolled my eyes saying "why would you do that?" And I know I wasn't alone in that as my fellow audience members made their displeasure known.

Like I said I had no expectations but because of how good that first act was it actually had me excited for the rest of the film. The quality of the last two acts was so bad that it felt like this film was directed by two different directors who didn't agree artistically. The lion cgi was passable, I've seen better but I've also seen worse.

The story is whatever, a subplot with Nate's wife that I did not care about, family drama was annoying and just not done well. The scenes shot at night were terrible I couldn't see a thing, I don't know if that was a style choice or poor lighting but either way it was bad. This was just a bad film and the more I think about it the worse it gets.

Disappointing drama, thriller that had some great potential but went down hill so quick. If you must watch this film then wait to rent it when it's streaming and prepare to turn your brain off completely.

IMDb: 3/10 Letterboxd: 2/5

Watched in Theaters.

Stupidity of man and ferocity of lion

[rahulvaidya055 · 9/10 · 3 September 2022]

This movie perfectly depicts the ignorance of humans when it comes to dealing with situations that have wild animals especially apex predators. The overconfidence of the characters of human beings in this film is shown as "what not to do" when you are out in nature. If you don't respect animals in the wild, they will tear you apart limb from limb. What's portrayed in this movie would actually help you analyze your own chances of survival in the wild if you actions are not smart, conservative and conscious of your surroundings. Watch this movie and learn what not to do if a situation like this presents itself to you.

The best "Jurassic Park" movie of the year!

[parksiet · 7/10 · 21 August 2022]

"Beast" is the best "Jurassic Park" movie this year! I really enjoyed it, it's an entertaining little thrill ride. And it truly does resemble a "Jurassic Park" film, it's what "Jurassic World Dominion" wishes it was. Because this was a great way to do an "animal" thriller/horror movie! It's very small scale and really stretches believability, but it worked for me despite its flaws!

Now, don't get me wrong, this movie isn't going to win any academy awards. It's a movie that probably should belong on streaming, but if it did it would be one of the better streaming movies! Still, I'm quite happy I got to see it in theatres because oh my god... the tension is so good here! I was on the edge of my seat multiple times! This is especially because of the excellent cinematography, they brilliantly employed the use of long takes which really helped to put the audience in the scene and increase the feeling of claustrophobia as the camera turns everywhere looking for the lion. The framing was great too, it stuck to the characters back so we genuinely felt and saw what they were experiencing; it really puts you in the moment. Unfortunately, those moments usually require extreme suspension of disbelief. It really stretches believability when it comes to the lion, while also trying to maintain a sense of verisimilitude. There is a lot of plot armour on the characters and both the humans and lion should die multiple times... it gets a bit ridiculous but if you can get past that it is pretty entertaining!

The story is pretty simple, but it works! It's got an intriguing "Jaws" like premise, but I felt it was almost like "Taken" but with the lion filling in for Liam Neeson's role! (You'll know what I mean when you see it!) I also was a little annoyed that the movie relies on some dumb decisions to be made by the characters... but hey, thats how it always seems to go in these things! The script does feel like it is missing something, and does tend to unravel as the movie goes on, but luckily due to Idris Elba it somehow comes together! Elba carries this movie on his back, giving it 110%! He is good in everything he does, and you can tell he is really trying to make this script work, and he is the sole reason that you can emotionally connect to the characters. If it was any other actor as the lead... this movie would not be near as good as I found it to be.

I was also impressed with the CGI for the lion. You can tell its CGI, but I don't think we've seen a lion done better before, especially for a lower budget film! The film clocks in right around 90 minutes, which was the perfect length for it. It's very tightly edited so it is constantly engaging and entertaining. If it was any longer the runtime would very much hold it back. But luckily it somehow managed to be an entertaining film! It's forgettable and flawed, but it managed to really surprise me and surpass my low expectations. It has some great tension, another great Idris Elba performance and delivered on its premise! Sure it's not perfect, nor is it great, but I enjoyed it!