“Beast” (2022) stars Idris Elba as Dr. Nate Samuels, who brings his daughters, Mer (Iyana Halley) and Norah (Leah Jeffries), to visit a family friend, Martin (Sharlto Copley). Martin protects animals in South Africa and was planning to take them on safari until they stumble upon some carnage and decide to help with disastrous results. A lion out for revenge is killing everyone. Are they next?
I watched “Beast” under ideal viewing conditions. The screening was packed and was a mix of reviewers and movie goers. I had a black father with his two girls sitting in front of me, the precise desired demographic, and adorable! People were talking at the screen and expressed their reactions to the events unfolding on screen. People had fun roasting the characters for not behaving the way that we would in their shoes, cheered and wriggled their bodies in terror at the appropriate times. It was dumb fun. If there was a negative, I was masked, and most people were not. So I would not risk dying for this movie, but if you are one of the many people going indoors without masks, this movie is the perfect summer movie for you. The characters are likeable enough that you don’t want them to die, but dumb enough that the denouement involves a man punching a lion.
Elba is as serious as a heart attack in “Beast.” He really sells that he is a father desperate to save his kids from a homicidal lion. Let’s face it! He is a better actor than this movie deserves, and only his looks surpass his talent. This movie needs to do well in the box office opening weekend for him to get more summer blockbuster hits and the paycheck that he deserves. See this movie!
I came in with no preconceptions about the rest of the cast. Every actor must have gone to the Andy Serkis School of working with CGI creatures because they did a great job looking as if they were really interacting with lions. “Beast” did a good job of getting me invested in the B storyline, the family’s backstory although it is trite. All the acting is superb. Even though intellectually I was skeptical that in South Africa, Martin would be invited to the cookout and comfortable with everyone, but Copley sold it and was patting Elba’s back as if they went way back and putting every nuance into it: I miss you, it is going to be ok, I’m sorry, hang in there, I’m so excited you’re here. There is one tense scene when Martin answers Nate’s question, and Copley imbues more emotion and backstory in his diplomatic short reply than the writers. Copley kills it.
I generally do not like kid actors, but Halley and Jeffries won me over as their storyline progressed. When they started off complaining about the heat, I thought to myself, “Then don’t wear layers.” It isn’t their fault that they have to deliver these lines and are placed in these situations, but Halley and Jeffries ground the absurdity in the sororal dynamic. When Mer gets angry with their dad on Norah’s behalf, Norah rejects it. Halley and Jeffries nail the scene and use their brief time of substance to show the rendering and reconciliation in their relationship. Also even though “Beast” gives Meredith more screentime. Nora initially feels like an annoying preteen character and the personification of exposition, then gets some unexpected badass moments. Some reviewers complained that they were annoying because their characters never obey their dad’s instructions, but it runs in the family because Nate never listens to Martin either. If Martin is having problems, and he is about this life, what is your doctor ass going to do?
The poacher storyline felt as if most of it landed on the cutting room floor, and the fraction retained was to give a backstory to the lion. When the poachers ask Nate if he is an American, I had the same response when the same comment was posed to Liam Neeson. No one is checking passports, and everyone would assume that Nate is British if they heard his voice. I agree with one of my fellow reviewers that we wanted “Beast” to even be more ridiculous. The lions are CGI, and I saw potential for the titular character to be a kind of lion freedom fighter who would eventually distinguish between Nate and the poachers, but the film was committed to framing the titular character as a villain by having him kill an entire village. The good news is that you will not feel bad and can root against this lion. The bad news is that the film missed an opportunity for the lion and Nate to find common ground as protectors of their respective families, team up and fight the poachers! Then before the lion gets killed, it can exchange a look of respect and understanding with Nate, “Take care of them in the way that I couldn’t for my family” just as Blue did in “Jurassic World: Dominion” (2022). Instead if a viewer is paying attention, they will be able to predict how it is going to end. While the movie avoids referencing any historical and racial conflict inherent in the location, that decision feels more deliberate in the way that they distinguish between good and bad lions. A lion cannot disobey their natural behavior if it hurts man. The writers are clearly Team Xavier, not Magneto, though the lion has a point. Stay woke!
If any felines see “Beast,” they may sue. To insure that Nate has a fighting chance, the lion does not see him in the dark, smell or hear him when he is nearby. I have played hide and seek with my cats, and my little fluffy babies would have found him. On the other hand, so many injuries are inflicted on this lion, and he never succumbs. He is a huge fan of Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off.” The filmmakers were definitely paying homage to films like “Jaws” and the Jurassic franchise, but I wanted them him to even be more extreme.
“Beast” should have spent more time with the family getting to know the locals. Copley’s lines give the villagers a sense of humanity since he characterizes them as his friends, but show, don’t tell. Instead most of the locals just exist to get killed. If a character wants to get treated like a person, the character speaks English, and even that is no guarantee. I know that the protagonist is black, but it does not mean that the film gets a waiver to treat everyone like extras. It is still gross that films set in an African country still require an English speaking, foreign protagonist and few actual living Africans get screen time other than Copley and his colleague, Banji (Tafara Nyatsanza).
Maybe I want too much from a creature feature, but don’t let my knitpicking deter you. I did have fun. I would have paid to see “Beast” and may still do so then give the ticket away to show support. It is the perfect popcorn film despite its drawbacks.
