Beast - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Beast



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
I saw trailers for Beast a few months back and wasn’t exactly going crazy over what I saw, but I was willing to give it a try simply because it has Idris Elba in it. Much like Ben Mendelsohn, the guy can’t turn in a bad performance, and with the addition of Sharlto Copley I was hoping it would be a fun romp. Then I promptly forgot about the film until I got the press release and decided it was time to give the film a spin for you guys. Sadly it looks like I was right from my initial take on the trailer, as Beast suffers from the worst cinema sin you possibly can fall prey to. Not being good, not being bad, but being simply forgettable and bland to the point where you honestly just don’t care.

Beast focuses on a new widowed father Dr. Nate Samuels (Idris Elba), who is returning to South Africa with his dauthers Meredith and Norah to sort of heal and honor the place where there mother once lived. Staying with Martin Bales (Copley), an old friend of Nate and his departed wife, the family attempts to rebond once more and hopefully have some sort of outpouring of grief. Things aren’t going very well for the fractured family, but Martin takes them all out on a guided tour of the wild South African plains, culminating on checking out a pride of lions. Unbeknownst to them, poachers have laid waste to a pride of lions the other night, killing all but one lion. A lion that has a taste of human blood and is looking for revenge on the humans who slaughtered the rest of his pride.

On their way back Martin, Nate and the girls run into a village that has been slaughtered by the beast. Realizing the danger that they’re in, Martin attempts to turn around and go back home and report this, the beast attacks them, wounding Martin and leaving Nate and his daughters trapped in a non functioning jeep. Now Nate has to figure out a way to get Martin back into the vehicle, and somehow survive a man eating lion that is stalking them like a set of gazelle’s.

Beast is sadly a rather dull and pedestrian affair. I can stand bad movies if they’re interesting enough, but Beast suffers from a complete lack of tension and has very little going for it besides Idris and Sharlto. The dialog gets a bit painful from the two girls at times, and both Meredith and Norah pulls some STUPID movie stunts that had me grinding my teeth and wanting to yell at the screen more than a few times. Then there’s the villains of the series (outside of the lion) who are just as contrived and underwhelming. The action is derivative, and the CGI for both the Lion and some of the blood was kind of laughable (the end confrontation with the Lion had me giggling as you could see CGI teeth missing Idris and lacerations that were there one moment completely gone the next).




Rating:

Rated R for violent content, bloody images and some language.




Video:

Beast is a bright and shiny digital affair that looks really good on Blu-ray (outside of the opening poaching scene which looks almost 720p level at times). Fine details are resplendent throughout the film, with a nice warm and natural looking sun drenched veneer. I did notice some banding during the night time dream sequences Nate had in the jeep, but overall it’s a fairly artifact free film that really does shine in terms of the visual quality. Colors pop off the screen (CGI blood is way too obviously fake though), and all in all it’s an impressive encode. Probably the best part of the entire Blu-ray package.









Audio:

Even thought it’s a 7.1 mix, I was slightly underwhelmed by the track. Not that it’s a bad track at all, it’s just that I was expecting a little more from it. The opening 1/3rd of the movie is very much a forward heavy dialog centric mixing with strong vocals and very mild surround usage. Everything stays up front during a majority of the film, and only really opens up when the lion comes out to play. Bass is solid, but never an overly aggressive addition to the mix (there’s a few explosions and the lion slamming into Idris near the end to really give some booms). I’d say its moderate sound stems from the fact that this is a slow burn thriller and just doesn’t require a lot of the sound stage except for short flurries of activity.












Extras:

• DELETED SCENE – Watch an exclusive unreleased scene from Beast
• MAN VS. LION: THE FINAL BATTLE – Go inside the epic final battle between Nate and the beast himself as Director Baltasar Kormákur, star Idris Elba, and key members of the VFX team walk us through putting it all together.
• CREATING THE BEAST – The vicious title character of Beast is no ordinary lion. He's bigger, he's meaner, and he's got an axe to grind against humanity. Sit down with director Baltasar Kormákur as he explains what he envisioned for The Beast.
• MAKING IT REAL: THE WOUNDS – Sit down with prosthetics supervisor Clinton Smith and prosthetic assistant Daleen Badenhorst as they walk us through all the gory details of creating realistic looking slices, gashes, and tears caused by a massive, predatory lion.
• FILMING IN THE BEAST'S TERRITORY – Visit Limpopo South Africa where the cast and crew of BEAST travelled to capture all the vistas, planes, and mountains of Africa authentically on film.
• FAMILY BOND: THE CAST OF THE BEAST – Meet the family at the heart of this story as director Baltasar Kormákur and cast members Idris Elba, Iyana Halley, and Leah Jeffries take us inside their characters' journeys as they come together and heal in the direst of circumstances.
• A LION'S PRIDE – Learn the tragic truth of lion poaching with this factual piece that takes viewers inside the fight to protect the big game of Africa.

Final Score: ​

At the end of the day Beast is simply forgettable. It’s a decent enough thriller if you’re bored and watching Netflix, but I honestly found very little engaging about the film outside of Idris Elba and Copley’s camaraderie. Both men do the best with what they’re given, but they’re not given a whole lot. The Blu-ray looks great, sounds good, and generally has some decent extras too. I’d leave it as a rental personally.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Liyabuya Gongo, Martin Munro, Idris Elba, Sharlto Copley, Iyana Halley, Leah Jeffries
Directed by: Baltasar Kormakur
Written by: Jaime Primak Sullivan, Ryan Engle
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 7.1, English DVS, French (Canada), Spanish DTS 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Studio: Universal
Rated: R
Runtime: 93 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: October 11th, 2022

Recommendation: Rental

 

[Asere]

Thanks for the review. It was just ok for me. Left me wanting more.