Beast: Movie Review

Cast: Idris Elba, Sharlto Copley, Leah Jeffries, Iyana Halley

Director: Baltasar Kormákur

Essentially a family melodrama (lion after revenge after pride slaughtered, family struggling after grievous loss) transplanted to the South African jungle, Beast is a case of doing exactly what it says on the tin - nothing more and nothing less.

Elba stars as the recently-widowed Dr Nate Samuels, who takes his two daughters (Jeffries and Halley) to the plains of South Africa to catch up with an old mate Martin Battles (Copley, in one of his most human roles for years).

But on arrival, Battles discovers a village full of slaughtered people after a lion attack - and within moments all four of them are fighting for their lives as they realise in horror "We're in his territory now...."

It's not disrespecting Beast to say it's competent - it's a 90 minute film that knows what it wants to do and does it.

While you're either all in for the CGI lion and the squabbles that will ensue between a fractured family is entirely up to you. 

Kormákur goes all in, ratcheting up the tension and jump scares as characters intone in horror "The lion's gone rogue" and generally makes the film the equivalent of a pride-set slasher film on the plains.

That means characters do dumb things, there are lulls in the action as the necessary emotional drama is played predictably out, and there is sacrifice to be had in amongst a redemption and anti-poaching message.

But in amongst all of the predictability lies an affably rugged Elba, willing to sacrifice his all for the film and go along with the absurdities for the audiences' sake. 

Beast isn't exactly the most original film, but with a solid eye for what a thriller of its ilk should deliver, Kormákur makes sure that whilst it's not entirely memorable long term, it's a short term adrenaline hit to see us all through an ongoing cinematic seasonal lull.