Movie Review: Beast

 

Michael's Movie Grade: C+

A well-made but overly familiar sports film. 

In this film an ex-fighter who has been out of the ring for ten years agrees to go back and do one more fight when he has another child on the way and needs the money. 

If the storyline sound familiar to you that is because there is nothing here that has not been done a million times before. Everything about this movie feels very familiar to the point that when watching it you forget you haven't actually seen it before. 

That doesn't mean the film is bad though. There is quite a bit to recommend it. The fighting scenes are incredibly well done getting across the brutality of the sport without ever going overboard with the gore. These scenes are also very well filmed and paced. While not complex, the main character is likable, and you want to see him win. The villain on the other hand is the type that you love to hiss which makes us root for our main character even more. Daniel MacPherson is fantastic as the main character bringing some real charisma to a very simple character. The story unfolds at a fast pace and is never once boring.

The main problem with this film though is that the supporting characters are as bland as they can be. Most of these characters feel more like plot points than actual characters. Their existence here is simply little more than tools to move the story forward. This unfortunately can cut into the emotional impact of certain scenes. When characters feel so artificial, plot points that center on them also feel artificial. Of these supporting characters, the fighter's old trainer fares the best since he is played Russell Crowe. However, even a great actor can only do so much with such a bland character. 

This isn't a bad movie, but you will probably forget all about it a few weeks after you see it.