Review: ‘Beast,’ with Idris Elba, has B-movie bite

Sharks, grizzlies, large snakes and rampaging apes have historically been the go-to decisions for animal-kingdom antagonists in survival thrillers. Lions not a lot. Possibly the king of the jungle has all the time been too regal, too majestic — too heroic — to be lowered to the standing of mere summer-movie marauder.

However the circle of life additionally pertains to films, and it was in all probability inevitable that the lion’s time would come. That is, no less than, the character of “Beast,” a surprisingly agile and nifty B-movie graced by Idris Elba’s formidable presence, fluid camerawork and tolerable ranges of implausibility.

It is a film effectively engineered as a late-summer diversion — a giant cat film for the canine days of August — that Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur (“Adrift,” “Everest”) insures stays effectively inside the paths of man-against-nature movies earlier than it. However whereas the lion is CGI, the South African location is real, and Kormákur and cinematographer Philippe Rousselot’s lengthy, well-choreographed takes give “Beast” an immersive high quality effectively past the style’s ordinary slapdash reducing.

However how do you make a lion a diabolical hunter? “Beast,” written by Ryan Engle, opens with poachers mowing down a pleasure of lions. However one — a giant one — escapes, and has a preternatural style for avenging the killings and defending its territory. The lion’s ferocity is simple to empathize with, ever to root for. Having had his household taken from him, he is just like the Liam Neeson of lions.

That is what Nate Samuels (Elba) and his two daughters, Meredith (Iyana Halley) and Norah (Leah Jeffries), stroll into. They’ve simply arrived in South Africa, a visit that Nate hopes might be a therapeutic one for the household. They’re nonetheless reeling from the demise of Nate’s spouse from most cancers, a loss that Mere and Norah partly blame on Nate, a health care provider. The pair had additionally separated a 12 months earlier than her demise, including to the household friction.

However what’s higher at ailing abandonment points than a man-hunting lion? After reuniting with an previous good friend, Martin (Sharlto Copley), a vehemently anti-poacher wildlife biologist, the 4 set out in a jeep to discover the savanna. It does not take lengthy earlier than they stumble throughout the lion’s victims and discover themselves warding off his assaults from the car. When Martin radios that the lion is staring proper at him, one of many daughters gamely asks, “Is that a bit, um, unnatural?”

There’s the backdrop of animal therapy, however “Beast” is generally unburdened by bigger which means. For many of its brisk 93-minute operating time, the Samuels tussle with the animal in a sport of (huge) cat and mouse. The shark in “Jaws” put a complete neighborhood beneath the microscope, however the scope of “Beast” is narrowly fastened on Nate and his women. There’s no beast inside right here, only a beast.

However with full of life supporting performances from Halley and Jeffries and a commanding one from Elba, they make a sensible, typically bickering household. Elba’s dedication to the movie offers it extra psychological weight than it’d deserve. Nothing will shock you in how “Beasts” unfolds besides for the way engrossing it manages to be.

“Beast,” a Common Photos launch, is rated R by the Movement Image Affiliation of America for violent content material, bloody photos and a few language. Operating time: 93 minutes. Three stars out of 4.

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Observe AP Movie Author Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP

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