Do You Need to See 'Beast'? Yes, You Do.
Blame it on Animal Farm.
You can’t just watch something that stars an animal like Beast and not have your middle-school mind kick in to ponder: Is there a greater metaphor at work? Is there some deep social commentary behind why Idris Elba is kicking a lion in its snout? I just watched The Bear, and there’s definitely some symbolism going on with said bear.
So when you see the trailer for Beast, you know the titular beast is this angry-ass lion, but the proverbial beast are the poachers that killed his pride, right? Or the cancer that kills the wife of Dr. Nat Daniels (Elba) and leaves their two daughters motherless? Or maybe it’s the international black market for lion parts that also made Nat’s pal, wildlife biologist Martin Battles (Sharlto Copley), a fervent protector of lions? Heck, it might as well be global warming while we’re at it. Surely the beast isn’t simply… the lion?
Spoiler alert: The beast is just the lion. And that’s what makes Beast mildly awesome.
There’s some allusion that Beast may be all of these deeper things in the beginning of the movie–despicable poachers slaughter his family, and the lion turns into a vengeful John Wick of the safari, tearing through anything that walks on two legs, like, you know, humans. But don’t worry, you won’t need CliffsNotes to appreciate Beast. If you thought Leo Dicaprio versus a CGI bear was the best damn thing about The Revenant, well, Hollywood is pleased to offer you the essence of that scene spread across ninety minutes: Idris Elba battling a lion with his BARE HANDS!
Now, you may ask, what would compel a man, even the most supreme Idris Elba, to fight a half ton of rage composed of claws, teeth, muscle, sinew, and fur? To protect his daughters. What parent wouldn’t fight a lion for his kids? If you have to think about that, you’re probably not a parent. Or you haven’t seen a Liam Neeson movie. Yes, Beast can be described as “Jaws but make it safari,” but it’s also a bit of “Taken goes to Africa.”
Beast is not a great movie. Some may even say it’s terrible. Where the movie flounders is when director Baltasar Kormákur attempts to make it too much about a man reckoning the death of his wife via some very overwrought dream sequences and cringe family therapy-like dialogue between Nate and his two daughters. But Sharlto Copley is a charming delight as Nate’s trusted old friend. (Please, movie gods, let there be a District 10). The cinematography is tight; a large portion of the movie takes place inside a vintage Toyota Land Cruiser—you’ll get flashbacks to the Ford Explorer T-Rex scene in Jurassic Park. Still, while one of the daughters even wears a Jurassic Park T-Shirt, Jurassic Park, this is not. But, as the movie poster will tell you: Idris Elba fights a lion with his BARE HANDS. I mean, to many, that’s some Grade A wish fulfillment.
If you go into Beast expecting more than that, you may be disappointed. For something more, perhaps reread Animal Farm?
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