Title: Beast
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Baltasar Kormákur
Starring: Idris Elba, Sharlto Copley, Iyana Hayley
Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins

What It Is: Dr. Nate Samuels (Elba) and his two teenage daughters are on safari in Africa. His friend Martin Battles (Copley) shows him the wonders of the lion, the King of the Jungle. When a rogue lion, previously hunted by poachers has found his way into the village it’s man vs wild in a fight to the death. Not exactly where you want to be as a doctor on vacation looking to escape a traumatic event from his past.

What We Think: Idris Elba is pretty damn good here. Sharlto Copley was nice to see, I’ve missed him in films. Some of the CGI usage on the live animals is questionable but not enough to take you out of the movie going experience. Director Baltasar Kormákur does something some spectacle directors fail to do. He gets us to care wholly about the human characters. We really want Elba’s character to live and survive and defeat the creature. Often we’ll root for the animals. Most of the time we’re right to do so. Not here, and not this time. That’s down to the work of the whole cast and crew.

Our Grade: B-, What else is there to say about this film. It was a bit of a surprise for me. This isn’t the typical thing I’d like, and yet I found myself sucked into the utter nonsense of it all. I believe this just hit streaming via Peacock so maybe give this one a look if you’re a subscriber of that platform. Idris Elba takes some odd roles. Like dude is just in everything and a lot of the times I am utterly confused about what exactly he’s trying to do.