Beast

Last night I spontaneously decided to see Beast and I enjoyed it a lot more than I was expecting.  After his estranged wife dies from cancer, Dr. Nate Samuels (Idris Elba) takes his two teenage daughters Meredith (Iyana Halley) and Nora (Leah Sava Jeffries), who blame him for abandoning their mother during her illness, to her village in South Africa to try and repair his relationship with them.  They stay with Martin Battles (Sharlto Copley), a family friend who manages a game reserve, and the four of them eventually go out on a game drive together.  When they stop in another village, they discover that every inhabitant has been savagely killed by a lion which, as Martin explains, is unusual behavior.  It turns out that poachers have killed this lion's entire pride and he is fighting back.  This includes injuring Martin and trapping Nate and his daughters in their incapacitated jeep.  Nate must now fight for the survival of his family against a relentless predator.  Despite some incomprehensibly bad decisions made by most of the characters (the daughters are told to stay in the vehicle at least 812 times and, you guessed it, they don't stay in the vehicle) and a predictable outcome, there are some really tense action scenes that had me holding my breath.  These are definitely enhanced by long tracking shots that are almost more menacing for what they don't show than what they do because I was always on edge not knowing where the lion would come from.  Elba is really great as an action hero (the final confrontation between his character and the lion is fantastic if a bit improbable) but he also delivers in the poignant scenes between Nate and his daughters.  Copley, who always seems slightly unhinged to me, is also really believable as a naturalist and the young actresses have nice interactions with Elba.  This is a well-crafted thriller that is more entertaining than the usual late summer fare and I recommend it!