The Idris Elba movie is out in theatres. No, not Three Thousand Years of Longing. Beast which originally came out on 19th August but it has released in India on 2nd September. Beast’s premise is absolutely simple, A father Nate is visiting an African sanctuary with his two daughters that is not open for public. He gets in because of his friend and follows is well… you’ve seen the trailers. Yeah, bunch of lion attacks. Along Elba in the lead the film stars Sharlto Copley, Leah Jeffries and Iyana Halley. Baltasar Kormákur has helmed the film with a screenplay from Jaime Primak Sullivan and Ryan Engle. Universal Pictures is the distributer of the film. I was not aware that this film was coming out, I first heard of it when I was watching Thor: Love and Thunder. I saw a promo of the film in the interval.
Ever since then, it was in the back of my mind to watch this film. It had Edris Elba in it, so naturally I was drawn to the film. Along with Elba the premise and genre of the film was something I could get behind. Who doesn’t like an adrenaline rushing survivor story. So now that I’ve finally gotten the opportunity to watch the film, let’s see of the Idris Elba starrer lives up to its name.
Warning – Some Spoilers for the Film Follow Below
Rating – ★1/2
Beast: A Generic Survival Hunt on Idris Elba’s Shoulders?
I’ll keep this short. Like me if you’re into the genre of the film then you’re going to be disappointed. As I mentioned above that the premise of the film is simple and it should’ve been kept simple. I get it that we need to make the audience root for the character and apart from the bricks that are the thrills of the story, there should be some mortar that is drama which connects everything and it makes it concrete. However, the subplots with daughters and then the absurd subplot with the deceased wife was absolutely forced.
Like in between the lion attacks there are moments where Idris Elba sleeps and he dreams about his wife that is deeply rooted in the African tradition. I mean why? Why do you need that? Also the family dynamics with the father and the girl were technical appropriate. A distant family comes together after a horrible adventure. Nothing we haven’t seen before. However, the execution of this subplot is absolutely laughable. Like when Idris Elba saves the car from a lion’s attack and assures his younger daughter that everything will be alright.
Now instead of realizing that we’re in a lion’s territory the older daughter gives Idris Elba some shit about not making promises that he can’t keep up. I mean I understand about unresolved issues and stuff but when there’s a lion out to kill you a dialogue like this just sounds ridiculous. Apart from this there is poachers sub plots which is not ridiculous like the other two. Also, in a survival thriller the situations you create around a character become absolutely paramount.
Beast is not a film crafted that naturally lands characters in situations where it leads to a thrilling sequence. Many moves by characters are questionable and seems like their lives are being dictated by the plot. There was a crocodile seen in the small lake that I felt was a set up but it got its pay-off. Other than this many characters are injured by the lion. Sometimes the characters tend to the injury and the other times the injury seems to have no effect on them. Like Elba’s shoulder and leg injury.
Verdict
People told me that Morbius was the worst film of 2022 but they were wrong. It was Jurassic World: Dominion. I’m not defending Morbius by any stretch of your imagination but Dominion was just somehow worse than anything. I feel no hesitation to add Beast to this list now. It is definitely one of the worst films of the year. The film is technical well made where you don’t feel like it is cheap. However, it is the story that fails the film completely. As there is no well designed thrilling sequences in the film.
Films like Ready or Not and The Hunt are prime examples of how surviving thrillers can be a lot of fun as well as make you heart run a pound. Beast is another underwhelming film of 2022. I’m giving it a 1.5 out of 5 stars and that is only for its technical team that has done a good job. To answer the question in title, no Idris Elba cannot save this mess. He tries but well…he doesn’t succeed. I didn’t talk about the performances because there is nothing to talk about. Idris Elba is what you’ll expect from him and other than him no one was impressive.
Beast is currently playing in theatres near you.
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