Idris Elba’s latest big-screen thriller gets a B+.
This week saw many media outlets plus guests attend private screenings of Universal Pictures’ Beast starring Idris Elba, Sharlto Copley, Iyana Halley, and Leah Sava Jeffries.
The 90-minute film was produced by Think Like A Man producer and this year’s Oscars, Will Packer. The film actually is not bad and worth watching. While many people have yet to step inside a movie theater since the pandemic, others have gotten comfortable watching from their homes.
Whichever choice is made, Beast is an intense thriller that will entertain you from start to finish. It also generates curiosity to learn more about poaching that affects wildlife in South Africa. Check out 4 reasons to get your mask and head to your local theater, or your home, too.
1. Mending Relationships Between Fathers & Children
Elba plays American doctor Nate Samuels, a recent widower whose relationship with his daughters, played by Jeffries and Halley, isn’t in the best shape. His character works to repair moments missed while earning back their trust. It’s the eldest daughter, Norah, who reminds Samuels of what he didn’t do to help keep his family stable. The trio pulls together against the lion, activating Samuels’s paternal skills to protect his family much like the lion who wants to protect his existence. The parallelism is blatant in select scenes as both males seek to preserve.
2. Survival Skills
Earlier in the film, symbolism is shown as predators hunt the lion down yet he has to protect himself from man. Later on, we see the family become trapped forcing the father to use bravery and protect himself from the lion. When Samuels’ friend, Martin Battles (Sharlto Copley), tells him,
“It’ll be you versus [the beast] and that is not a fight you’re designed to win.”
Audiences will piece together the enemies the lion is fighting against, Elba’s character is now the hunted. Fortunately, between his medical competence and instincts to survive, Samuels leads the way in the latter half of the film to keep himself and his family alive.
3. So, Mufasa’s job in The Lion King was to protect his pride.
If you’re anything like me, you absolutely loved the Disney film. However, after watching Beast, the explanation as to why there’s the King of the Jungle and lionesses became clear. The job of the lioness is to go out and hunt for food then return and supply the pride. Get this, the freshly killed prey is first served to the Lion followed by others.
However, it turns out lionesses have more flexibility and agility which makes it easier for them to hunt. It’s the male lion who protects and fights on behalf of the pride. I thought the roles were a bit primitive and restrictive, sort to speak, but it made sense. The movie shows exactly how male lions are during their habitat of protection. The figuration is a constant theme throughout the movie.
4. Understanding Poaching
While the film touches on poaching, some people may only understand so much. However, here’s what I found:
- Tigers were primarily a focal point for animal poaching due to their teeth, bones, and claws. Not only were their body parts in high demand but used for medicinal purposes in Asia and Africa, including witchcraft, and sold in black markets.
- Nearly 4,000 tigers remain in the world which puts lions at risk for the same use as product replacement.
- Oftentimes, lions can be poisoned in villages to prevent them from killing their livestock
- Lion poaching in Africa is widespread. When the male lion is poached, it disrupts the pride’s order. The pride becomes at risk for survival and reproduction decreases.
- According to Sustainability-Times, around 600 lions are killed yearly.
Since the pandemic, a resurgence in commercial poaching and a lack of funding has been an obstacle to conservationists’ mission on protecting wildlife.
