Beast review – Idris Elba fights a lion to surprisingly thrilling effect

When the trailer for Beast first dropped, it was easy to laugh. Not only at the film's absurdly basic title, but the way it seemed to be treating its ludicrous premise – Idris Elba fights a CGI lion – with a seriousness unsuited to the pulpy material. Yet the film, miraculously, comes to us not as a rotten carcass destined for the bargain bin, but a tight, thrilling B-movie that more than delivers on its promise of seeing its lead actor go paw-to-paw with a vengeful feline for 90 minutes straight (and yes, he punches it in the face on more than one occasion).

Our innate hunger for movies about man's struggle against nature's apex predators has led to more downs than ups, of course, most relying too heavily on CG at the expense of likeable characters, effective pacing and inventive set-pieces. For every Crawl (Kaya Scodelario vs. alligators), there's a Primal (Nicolas Cage on a boat with a menagerie of escaped critters should have been a blast, and yet…). But in the hands of journeyman director Baltasar Kormákur (Everest), Beast comes as assured, slickly made stuff, a speedy yarn that treats its characters with respect but simultaneously gets that it will forever be referred to as “that film where Idris Elba fights a lion.”

Employing a slippery American accent that seems to be getting worse with every film, Elba plays Nate Samuels, a doctor who has come to South Africa with his two teenager daughters (Iyana Halley and Leah Sava Jeffries, one of whom is glimpsed early on wearing a Jurassic Park t-shirt, just so we know the movie's in on the joke) following the death of his ex-wife from cancer. He feels guilty for not catching the signs. The children blame their dad for not saving her. The trip should have been a chance to reconnect with their mother's roots, the forthcoming battle an inevitable device for bringing them together again. Of course, this being a movie set in South Africa, it must also feature Sharlto Copley in a supporting role, reliably charismatic here as Nate's biologist and anti-poacher pal Martin.

On paper, it's old hat. But against the odds, real effort has been made in the photography, courtesy of DP Philippe Rousselot. The movie unfolds in a series of fluid long takes that make us feel like we're there in the bush, heightening tension as Nate and his family are pursued by a lion with the mind of the Terminator. It's not quite the stuff of long-take master Emmanuel Lubezki – but in a modest production like this, made on a small budget, big points for trying. As we track our heroes' movements, the camera manoeuvres to constantly surprise us, creating the impression that we, too, are being stalked. And the movie has great set-pieces in droves: a thrilling mid-point scene that feels like an extended riff on the infamous jeep sequence from Jurassic Park, while a ridiculous but hugely cathartic final showdown gives us exactly what we were deprived of in Liam Neeson vs. wolf movie The Grey.

“Why would he do that?” Nate asks of the lion at once point, referring to its single-minded attempt to track them down. Best not to ask questions. Like the shark in Jaws (a movie this one apes in its decision to obscure the lion until it really counts), this predator seems to fully understand the concept of revenge. Across the span of the runtime, he's kicked, stabbed, shot and set on fire – yet he's never quite poised as a villain. Instead, you feel his pain, especially in the wake of a prologue in which his entire pride is massacred, sparking the killing spree. No, Beast isn't exactly subtle in the “we brought this upon ourselves” department, and there are plenty of satisfying kills against evil poachers to drive the point home.

Granted, this is plain ol' safari malarkey, though there's an impressive blend of craft and inventiveness on display to make the short runtime feel genuinely refreshing in an age of overwrought and excessively plotted IP. I'll take an unpretentious little thriller like this one over the convoluted machinations of today's blockbuster fare any day. Fun!

Beast is released in UK cinemas on 26 August.