Beast (2022) Review:
The premise of Beast (2022) is simple and contrived: Idris Elba engages in fisticuffs with a murderous lion. Thankfully, that’s all the movie ever sets out to be. In a subgenre that’s been pitting man against nature for a lot longer than it has needed to, it’ll surely fade into the background by the time the year’s up. Nevertheless, it’s quite a relief to see a film that doesn’t unnecessarily add more than what its advertisements promise. That it has the confidence of a far better movie is reason alone to forgive its lack of purpose and the predictability it wears on its sleeve.
Here’s a film that at least has the competence to keep its premise grounded in realism, and one that views its sacrifice of character development as a necessary risk if it means giving an audience what they want to see. We know very little about Dr. Nate Samuels (Elba) and his two daughters, Meredith (Iyana Halley) and Norah (Leah Sava Jeffries), other than that they’ve recently suffered the loss of their mother and are traveling to South Africa to visit the village where she grew up. However, who wouldn’t be able to relate to the sense of helplessness and panic if a safari went extremely awry? With a hungry lion on one side and a team of equally thirsty poachers on the other, there’s little that occurs in Beast that viewers won’t see coming, and with only 93 minutes to spare, it spends next to none of them worrying about the real ecological concerns surrounding the Samuels as they fight for their lives. It’s perhaps the film’s biggest boon, then, that it makes that struggle for survival just thrilling enough.
Then again, it’s not as if Beast is meant to be a parable about interfering with nature or domestic fallout in the wake of death. Even if it were, Idris Elba would likely have given as tremendous of a performance as he does here. Alongside the equally undervalued Sharlto Copley as the Samuels’ friend and safari guide Martin, Elba effectively balances his resourcefulness and quick-witted intelligence as a wildlife biologist with the regret he feels over walking out on his wife as she succumbed to cancer. Having a family who isn’t quite ready to forgive him in tow is enough to humanize Samuels and make his eventual conflict with the lion that much more exciting. Elba isn’t bringing the same kind of superhuman presence he’s brought to his previous roles in the The Suicide Squad (2021), Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019), or the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Instead, he’s playing one of the most tangible characters he’s played on the big screen in years, often the most doubtful of his own abilities but determined to hold his ground nonetheless.
Of course, Elba and director Baltasar Kormákur have help from a committed production crew who are just as willing to take the premise seriously enough to ensure that the film doesn’t unintentionally devolve into lurid B-movie sensationalism akin to 1981’s Roar, an infamous production nightmare due to its use of real wild animals which injured dozens of cast and crew members. If it’s not all that it needs to do something unexpected with its premise, Beast still has the kind of intention that is rarely seen in films like it. Kormákur’s previous work on the true-to-life Everest (2015) and Adrift (2018) suit him for his position, ably conveying a sense of realness even in a setting where the setup isn’t exactly commonplace to real life. The work of cinematographer Philippe Rousselot is an additional surprise in this regard. Rather than leaving them with a bird’s eye view, the Oscar-winner finds a way to place the viewer in the middle of the nightmare with some impressively conceived long takes, adding a welcome bit of grace and nuance to the Samuels’ frightening, often claustrophobic experience.
Sadly, the presentation of the lion itself invites an equal share of commendation and derision; the visual rendering is easy to impress as its coloring blends in with the brightness of the day, but less so as its artificiality sticks out in the pitch black of night. What’s worse is that Beast ultimately lets its voracious antagonist down with an anticlimactic finish that brings a great deal of momentum to a halt. It’s more than perplexing, especially considering the film honors its promise of pitting two able-bodied foes against one another in a fight to protect their territory, only to then uncharacteristically fizzle out. But Beast is a film largely concerned with the trail of terror a lion can leave in its tracks, and, though ultimately forgettable even at its best, its a modest success with the decency to realize what it is.
Beast (2022) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
Why is the Lion Attacking People?
Beast (2022) opens on the plains of South Africa, where a group of poachers are descending upon the land. Coming across a pride of lions, the poachers manage to shoot all of them except the leader. The male lion takes shelter amongst the tall grass while a handful of poachers load the others into a truck to be skinned. A few poachers stay behind to set a trap for the head lion, but fail to realize that it is close by and has trapped them instead. One of the men emerges from the grass with multiple gashes across his face and neck, and it is not long before the lion emerges and kills the rest of the poachers.
Why are the Samuels in South Africa?
Dr. Nate Samuels (Elba) arrives in South Africa from New York City not long after the opening attack with his two daughters, Meredith (Halley) and Norah (Jeffries). The girls are still mourning the loss of their mother, Amahle, to cancer, and are resentful of Nate for devoting more time to his work than to her during her last days. As Nate struggles to re-establish an emotional connection to his daughters, the Samuels are met by their friend and Nate’s former schoolmate, Martin Battles (Copley), who has agreed to chaperone their trip to the village where Amahle grew up, having grown up in the village himself and been good friends with Amahle all her life. Meredith later voices her anger to Nate over dinner, condemning him for his lack of interest in his family since Amahle’s death. Nate confides in Martin later that night, asking him why he never came to the funeral, to which Martin responds by admitting he didn’t like the idea of Amahle being buried in an average American cemetery when she deserved to be buried near the village in South Africa.
The next morning, Martin and fellow wildlife preservationist Banji lead the Samuels on a safari of the surrounding plains, where they come across a pride of lions that Martin and Banji have raised since they were cubs. The pride greets Martin joyously like pets, and it’s here that Banji explains to the Samuels the role each lion plays in a pride: the female lions do the hunting while the males are tasked with protecting the pride from any forces that invade their territory. Martin notices a bullet wound in the paw of one of the hunter lions, and when he approaches her, she acts aggressively. He is nudged away by one of the males and the group departs the scene shortly thereafter.
How Does the Lion Find the Samuels?
As Banji leaves to inform the rest of the preservationists about poachers in the area, Martin and the Samuels press on to Amahle’s village, which they discover is quiet and empty. After a brief search for the residents, Martin and Nate discover the decomposing corpses of several villagers who have all been slain by the lone, vengeful lion. Evacuating the village, their drive is interrupted by a wounded man named Mutende who appears to have been attacked, as well. Mutended dies despite Nate’s best efforts to save him while Martin goes off on his own to hunt the lion down. Martin finds the lion and takes a shot at it with his rifle. When Nate goes to look for Martin, he notices the lion heading toward him and races to the group’s car, making it back just before the lion can get to him. As the lion chases the Samuels’ car, Nate’s erratic driving and lack of knowledge of the area cause him to crash the car near the edge of a cliff, where it stalls out.
The Samuels manage to make contact with Martin, whose leg has been mauled by the lion, via walkie-talkie. Nate instructs Martin on how to stop the bleeding while formulating a plan on how to save him. Finding a tranquilizer gun in the car, Nate assembles it while Meredith gets an idea of Martin’s location before getting out of the truck to find him. When the lion re-emerges, Meredith makes her way to Martin as Norah and Nate manage to overpower the lion by shooting it with a dart. Meredith and Martin find their way back to the truck, where Nate operates on Martin and manages to slow his bleeding.
Do the Poachers Help the Samuels?
The group find themselves trapped in the car overnight as the tranquilizer’s effects wear off faster than they anticipated, allowing the lion to continue blocking their path to escape. With their water supply dwindling, Nate suffers from nightmares in which his daughters are killed by the lion. After waking up, he apologizes to Meredith for not being there when they needed him and reaffirms the love he had for their mother. Shortly thereafter, they pick up a signal through the car’s radio and provide their location.
The group is discovered by poachers who are scouting the area in search of the lion. Nate manages to negotiate with the leader for safe passage out of the area, but he soon reneges on the deal after discovering Martin is with them. The poachers leave the Samuels behind as they learn Martin is a known anti-poacher who has killed several men to protect the South African wildlife. The lion attacks again, killing all of the poachers and giving the Samuels the opportunity to make a break for the poachers’ van. Martin gets Meredith and Norah out of harm’s way as the lion attempts to attack their car, sending the car over the edge with Martin and the lion inside. As the Samuels escape in the poachers’ van, Martin sees the car’s leaking gas and ignites it, killing himself and burning the lion.
Beast (2022) Ending, Explained: How Do The Samuels Escape The Lion?
The Samuels drive toward their camp, but Nate stops the car at an abandoned building to find medical supplies for Meredith, who was injured by the lion during their escape. Nate tends to Meredith’s injuries before the burnt lion arrives at the building. Nate instructs the girls to hide as he distracts the lion and lures it out into the open. He draws the lion into the territory of Martin’s lions, fighting it one-on-one with a knife as it bites and scratches him several times. Just as the lion is about to finish Nate off, the male lions from the nearby pride attack the lone lion and fight it off themselves. The lone lion is killed by Martin’s pride as Nate passes out from his injuries.
Nate regains consciousness in a hospital sometime later, where he is greeted by Meredith and Norah, who inform him that Banji rescued them and brought them to safety. They thank him for saving their lives and commend him for knowing that Martin’s pride would attack the lion to protect their own. After Nate begins to recover, the Samuels continue on with their vacation by visiting a tree that their mother loved in her youth.
