Beast

Le réalisateur islandais Baltasar Kormákur, qui n’est pas à son coup d’essai, propose un film de genre très réussi et de grande qualité, avec une prémisse simple, mais une exécution d'autant plus efficace. Il ne fait pas de promesses intenables et fonctionne bien dans à peu près tout ce qu'il vise. Si vous avez pu apprécier, par exemple, le film de série A Prey sorti il y a quelques années, le encore-plus-série-A Beast fera sans doute votre affaire. Et puis, les films d'horreur de qualité avec des bêtes tueuses ne se trouvent pas à la pelle. (10/08/2022)

La tension monte rapidement et de manière efficace, le potentiel du drame survivaliste est solide jusqu'à la fin. Bon travail avec l'environnement et les animaux numériques, belle reconnaissance de l'inspiration due à Jurassic Park (personnages en danger coincés dans une jeep). Et Idris Elba y est parfaitement à sa place. L'ultracliché de « la famille en difficulté qui se rapproche face à une situation extrême » ne dérange pas, il s'agit d'une friandise du genre qui divertit solidement avec une tension dans un environnement exotique. Juste ces absurdités occasionnelles, bon sang. Il n'y en a pas beaucoup, mais cette aventure intense et techniquement impeccable pourrait s'en passer. (29/09/2022)

A decent survival flick with lions in the Savannah. If you accept the fact that Beast is a horror B-movie with no higher ambitions, serving only as a survival action/thriller with a bloodthirsty lion, it can be reliably enjoyed. If you start addressing the script – is anyone really addressing the script here? really? Only an intellectual brat can expect twists and turns and a compelling plot here. That sometimes someone doesn't act logically? Well, kids don't think, they act, and not everyone is logical, so I find these criticisms completely silly and irrelevant, but back to the film. It starts slower and gradually introduces us to the main characters. I appreciate the fact that there are not a bunch of stupid teenagers, but a family with a father and two daughters, whom the viewer can root for far more than annoying teens, plus Idris Elba is a likeable doctor, so he knows what to do in a situation like this probably more than any of the grumbling viewers, and Sharlto Copley as a zoologist and their guide (his dialogues about nature and animals are informative and fine) hugging with the lions is just great. Once the first encounter with El Diabolo takes, the real survival fun begins. The lion has great CGI, so that's a big plus (no one wants those rubber and plush animals seen in other similar movies), and he plays his role as villain perfectly. His entrance is scary and uncomfortable, he looks properly bad ass and they quite smartly explain why he does what he does, which I wasn't expecting. I also enjoyed the great visuals, the beautiful cinematography rounding off the African landscape there could have been more animals, I was hoping for a crocodile but was pleased with the snake at least), decent music, decent action (the scene with the poachers is pretty atmospheric), plenty of suspense and a few brutal shots (mutilated people), had there been some severed limbs I would have been very happy. The finale is a nice build up to 4 stars for me. An awesome intense duel that is brutal and raw (I thought of The Revenant right away) and a pretty clever ending. Beast is similar to Aja's Crawl, and anyone who loves animal horror like I do (if they are crafted with skill of course) should have little to complain. I was a bit disappointed with the music from the trailer, which wasn't in the film after all, I was looking forward to it, it sounded properly creepy. Beast meets those basic criteria, and that's enough for me, because genre films like this come out barely once a year. 7/10 (17/08/2022)

Idris Elba and his daughters encounter a lion in the middle of the African wilderness. They fight it for an hour, supporting characters die, and then what you expect happens. Beast is a cookie-cutter thriller that impresses primarily because of its cinematography and long takes, but certainly not with the story, which doesn't stray off the beaten track for a second. It's not bad, but I can't really think of a reason to send anyone to see it. As a thriller, Beast doesn't have much to offer. (17/08/2022)

A mad Scar leaving more people bleeding in Africa than a hemorrhagic fever vs. an incomplete city family on much-needed team building. Baltasar Kormákur tries to elevate a run-of-the-mill animal attack B-movie with long shots and fairly decent CGI, borrowing bits here and there (the visions of the widower à la The Grey, Attenborough’s park), but his futile battle with the dumb script strips away the technical finesse down to the bone. In the finale, which resembled The Lion King crossed with a duel between Elba’s Harmonica and a lion-maned Frank, all I was missing was for Rafiki to turn around, bend over, and show us what we’re supposed to think. (24/11/2022)