The Mosley Review: Beast
I've always wondered what happened to these type of films. The classic thriller of man vs nature or in this case man vs beast has all but dissolved in cinema. Every once in a while we get a shark film or some horror film that is a creature feature instead of real world dangers. The last time we really had a surprisingly good thriller about humans surviving a vicious attack from an animal was The Grey. Now comes a modern thriller that is hard not to compare to the classic 1996 classic, The Ghost and the Darkness. The film had some fun moments of tension sprinkled about the quick and straightforward story, but they were weighed down by absolutely dumb decisions. To say that this film truly tried to cram in some sort of family drama story element would be an understatement. At least the acting was consistently great from the lead characters.
Idris Elba is one of those guys that you can put into anything and he will shine the brightest. As Dr. Nate Samuels, he was good and very much a normal guy that is haunted by the mistakes of his marriage. Sharlto Copley is a man that can do so much with so little and as Martin Battles, he makes you care about him in less than 10 seconds. His chemistry with Idris was one of the best parts of the film and you feel their bond. Iyana Halley was good as Nate's oldest daughter Meredith, but man did she get on my nerves. Her conflict with her father was so forced and bitter that there really almost isn't any reconciliation or forgiveness toward her father. Leah Sava Jeffries was good as the younger sister Norah. The two of them felt like sisters and I liked that they stayed together for the most part. Norah was annoying too at times because of her tendency to always wonder off or overly be scared.
The score by Steven Price was good and I liked his enhancements of the growing dread and violent nature the Lion created around the main characters. Visually the film was stunning and I loved the cinematography as the film is shot for the majority in long unbroken scenes. It really helped with immersion and you could almost fell the hot breath of the lion. Aside from the sometimes laughable acting and terribly idiotic character decisions, I really wished this film would've kept the kids out of the story. It would've been more compelling if the lion was staking the doctor and the game preserver and how each others' skills and knowledge would help them survive. If you're interested in this film, then I sincerely suggest waiting for streaming instead of spending your money on a matinee. It wasn't a bad film, but not a memorable one either. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
