Beast Movie Review

Beast (2022)

Rent Beast on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Jaime Primak Sullivan (story by), Ryan Engle (screenplay by)
Directed by: Baltasar Kormákur
Starring: Idris Elba, Sharlto Copley, Iyana Halley, Leah Sava Jeffries
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
A father and his two teenage daughters find themselves hunted by a massive rogue lion intent on proving that the Savanna has but one apex predator.

Verdict
It's man versus beast in the vein of Jaws, well really Jaws 2 as this falls short of its potential. It never taps into the terror this situation would elicit. Everything feels too scripted, especially with literal and figurative notions of a father protecting his family. The lion attacks then the humans regroup and that tempo repeats. It never pauses long enough to let the terror overtake our imaginations. The end resolves the story, but it isn't very satisfying. The CGI is impressive, though a large portion of this movie is at night to supplement the CGI. That ends up being frustrating more than unnerving.
Skip it.

Review
This really seems like Jaws in the jungle. Well, Jaws 2, in the jungle. Jaws was great, the sequel was a letdown.

This opens with a prologue with poachers killing all the lions in a pride but one. If you're betting we see that one lion again you'd be right, and you don't have to wait long.

Dr. Nate Samuels (Idris Elba) takes his teenage daughters to Africa. It seems like they would be against the isolation and lack of connectivity. They are disappointed once they realize those facts, but this is also a visit to their mother's (Nate's wife's) village. This trip is meant to bring the family together. This spends time developing the characters when I know what's coming. I was ready to get into the main plot, and this waits just long enough to the point where I begin to wonder when the action would actually start.

Sharlto Copley, Iyana Halley, Leah Sava Jeffries, Idris Elba play Martin, Mare, Norah, Nate

We get a quip about how, 'No lion would do this.' Then Nate and his kids are trapped in a car with a lion watching them. The movie is a lion's revenge tale against poachers, and you can't fault it for that. Humans don't do well against a lion, but Nate does just well enough to survive and prolong their plight.

CGI has come quite a ways. You can kind of see the seams if you look hard, but overall this lion is really impressive. Quite a bit of this takes place at night, and I have to assume that's to aid the CGI. I was waiting for this to become more intense, and while it does that happens at night where I struggle to see what's happening.

Idris Elba plays Dr. Nate Samuels

This movie is literally and figuratively a father trying to regain his place as a protector of his children. This certainly takes that idea to an extreme, but it never develops enough to keep our attention. The lion attacks, the humans regroup, and the cycle repeats. The end of the movie is implausible. 

Beast doesn't tap into your imagination and primal fear like it should. There's a scene with a snake that should be much more unsettling, but the movie resolves it so quickly you never have time to anticipate and worry. The conclusion is disappointing because it stretches your suspension of disbelief too far. It's not a bad resolution, but it is safe and easy. This falls short in what it could be, because the easy comparison is Jaws and that movie did such a great job of making the terror palpable. This is like the Jaws sequel that seemed like an easy cash grab with none of the creativity that generated such emotion like the first Jaws.