By Keith Walther | Rose Law Group Reporter
“Beast” is unoriginal, unimaginative, and unworthy of the movie ticket price tag. It’s a “Jaws” wannabe, except with a lion. The fact that it couldn’t even crack $5 million in the US opening weekend is a very telling statement.
Meredith (Iyana Halley) and Norah Samuels (Leah Jeffries) are sisters who recently lost their mother to cancer. Their father, Dr. Nate Samuels (Idris Elba), decided to take them on an African safari to help with the healing process and repair the damaged relationship. However, shortly before they arrive, poachers killed a pride of lions save one, the male leader of course (think of Scar on steroids with a thirst for human blood). The lion immediately becomes hell bent for vengeance, because that makes sense, hunting every human he can get his grubby little paws on, not to eat, just to kill.
When Martin Battles (Sharlto Copley), their safari guide and family friend, gets injured, the family of three goes into survival mode. Apparently, this means making a series of obvious mistakes that leads them directly to super lion. Although, the rogue lion, while able to instantly kill poachers with high powered rifles, he struggles with finishing off the defenseless Dr. dad and his teenage daughters, culminating in a ridiculous and predictable showdown.
The script is poorly written with wooden dialogue that only serves to repeat the action that’s already been shown by the camera. Baltasar Kormakur directs this trainwreck, which is surprising having previously directed “Everest” in 2015 with great success. The Icelandic director is clearly clueless when it comes to incorporating horror and suspense by telegraphing every key moment in film, even the jump scares were obvious. As for the visual effects, they were network TV level at best.
Idris Elba headlines the cast, and he is the bright spot in an otherwise horrific film. As talented an actor as he is, he certainly sucks at choosing scripts evidenced in previous films, “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance,” “No Good Deed,” and “The Dark Tower” to name a few. It might be time for a new agent.
Iyana Halley and Leah Jeffries are both relative newcomers who don’t exhibit any signs of acting chops, showing a complete inability to overcome a bad script. Sharlto Copley, however, is an accomplished actor who lit up the screen in 2009 with “District 9.” Unfortunately, very little he could do with this role.
Film goers looking for a better lion hunting movie should look no further than 1996’s “The Ghost and the Darkness.” This was Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas towards the end of their prime and was one of the best films of that year. “Beast,” on the other hand, will go down as one of the worst films of 2022.
This movie earns:
Other movies in theaters I’ve reviewed:
Bodies Bodies Bodies
Vengeance
Nope
Thor: Love and Thunder
Elvis
The Black Phone
Jurassic World Dominion
Top Gun: Maverick
