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Beast Blu-ray Review

“Beast” is a roaring good time. 

Directed by Baltasar Kormakur, “Beast” revolves around Dr. Nate Samuels and his 2 daughters (Meredith and Norah) venturing to South Africa. While the trip is meant as a vacation to see the local reserve, Nate is also catching up with an old friend (Martin). Nate and his daughters have struggled as a family after the loss of his wife/their mother and aren’t exactly connecting much. Nate hopes the trip will fix that. Alas, this trip turns out to be a nightmare when a rogue lion begins murdering local people and eventually attacks the Samuels family and Martin. Matters only worsen when the 4 become stranded in the wild. Will they be able to survive?

Written by Ryan Engle, “Beast” is a simple, intense and exciting story about family, survival and facing fears. It’s also a highly improbable and over-the-top movie in which Idris Elba faces off against a lion. As far fetched as certain moments may be though, the movie works in delivering good old fashioned Hollywood entertainment that runs the perfect amount of time. Sure, characters do dumb things like putting themselves in harm’s way or messing up at a critical moment, but that’s standard material for a thriller like this. At the end of the day, “Beast” accomplishes what it sets out to do thanks to skillful direction by Baltasar Kormakur, likable characters, and plenty of heart racing sequences involving a vicious lion. In fact, the sequences are so well done they can make you overlook the apparent CGI shortcomings.

Going back to the likable characters, this is largely a 4 person movie and all 4 performers deliver top notch performances. Idris Elba is reliable as per usual and has great chemistry with everyone on screen. He even manages to make fighting a lion look convincing! Sharlto Copley can be hit or miss but he gives one of his best performances in years here as Martin. The 2 young actresses Iyana Halley (Meredith) and Leah Save Jeffries (Norah) also turn in noteworthy performances.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 2.39:1 1080p. How does it look? South Africa’s bright exteriors look exquisite in 1080p.

Audio Track: 7.1 DTS-HD MA. How does it look? The pulse pounding action and lion roars are sure to put your speakers to work.

Extras:
* DVD copy
* Digital copy
* Deleted scene
* “Creating The Beast”- A look at the CGI lions.
* “Man Vs. Lion: The Final Battle”- A featurette on the Idris Elba vs. lion scene.
* “Making It Real: The Wounds”- A look at how the injuries and wounds were created.
* “Filming In The Beast’s Territory”- A featurette on shooting in South Africa.
* “Family Bond: The Cast of Beast”- The title says it all
* “A Lion’s Pride”- A short informative piece on lions.
* Universal trailers.

October 20, 2022 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Beast Blu-ray Review, Beast Movie, Lions