The Beast
review by Bobby Blakey
Director Renny Harlin knows his way around action with films like Cliffhanger, The Long Kiss Goodnight, and Die Hard 2 under his belt. After stepping back into the horror genre with his Strangers Trilogy and out of the water from Deep Water, he is diving back into action and reteaming with Samuel L. Jackson for The Beast co-starring Joel Kinnaman. Could this presidential action film bring the pain, or will it fail to live up to the office of the presidency?
The Beast follows the president who is forced to drive the presidential limousine and unlock the full extent of The Beast’s highly classified offensive capabilities to save his injured Secret Service agent, reunite with his wife, and save the world when a militia of unidentified hostiles coordinates a coup against the U.S.
This film snuck in under the radar with sadly little promotion so going in it gets you concerned if there was a reason for that. The film has a simple premise and wastes no time getting right to the action. It gives a quick text set-up in the opening screen and then we are dropped right into a full-on firefight that doesn’t let up until the end of the film.
Pretty much the entire film takes place inside The Beast itself with the only on-screen characters really being Jackson and Kinnaman. The switch roles to who is carrying the action was an interesting direction and they have injected just enough back story and depth for both characters to not only make their actions and abilities make sense but also make you care about their relationship.
The action is top notch with plenty of car chaos, explosions, shoot-outs and fights with all of them delivering on the fun. The Beast itself is its own character that is
awesome despite it being over the top in its abilities. It’s more like something you would see in a Marvel movie, but with Jackson at the helm it is easy to accept and just wait to see what else it can do. Like any action film like this you have suspend some disbelief to just let it happen and have fun with the chaos.
This film isn’t breaking down any new barriers in the action genre, but it does go all in with plenty of great kills, blood, action and vintage Samuel L. Jackson “F” bombs at every corner. They even discuss how cool it is when he says it that is one of the few lighthearted moments in the otherwise violent film and funny.
I had a good time with this old-fashioned action flick that deserved better promotion and hope it finds the audience it deserves. Decide for yourself and check out The Beast in theaters now from Unified Pictures.