Director Baltasar Kormákur’s “Beast” is better than most mid-August releases
It’s easy to imagine Leo the Lion rolling his eyes in disbelief, because like the monster in this movie
It used to let viewers know they were in for some fun, cheesy mayhem. “Beast” has plenty of that
The screenplay by Ryan Engle doesn’t give the big cat a name, so let’s call him Rory.
He introduced the two, and their union produced two daughters, Norah (Leah Jeffries) and their eldest, Meredith (Iyana Halley).
Dr. Nate is taking his daughters to their mother’s old stomping grounds in the bush, hoping to repair his relationship with them.
As the film progresses, we’ll see his handiwork in more graphic detail, first on the body of a injured man who stops Martin’s Jeep seeking help .
Well, one lion does, and to prove his point, Rory traps the Samuels in their Jeep after causing them to crash during the attack
The task is a little harder than one might expect, considering it felt at times that Norah and Meredith were secretly in cahoots with their predator
Whenever Nate tells them to stay in the car, they don’t. They wander off at inopportune moments, knowing full well that Rory’s out there biding his time
They also have in common the examination of a sibling bond and the message that protecting one’s family is the ultimate goal of survival
When Dr. Nate goes mano-a-paws with Rory for the last time, I expected Bill Conti’s theme from “Rocky” to start playing
This will play better with an audience of rowdy genre movie lovers, the kind that once populated the grindhouses of Times Square and small town second-run theaters
Elba and Copley play their characters straight enough to be convincing while not losing sight of the kind of movie they’re making
It doesn’t overstay its welcome, and the ending is unexpectedly abrupt yet satisfying