The Beast (2026) Written Review
Which actor would make the coolest and most badass actor to portray the President of the United States? Samuel L. Jackson. There is no teaching charisma, and Jackson just has buckets to spare. His presence is also electric and towering which would lend itself perfectly to such a role. Then you have the right story, and Jackson would soar on screen with a Presidential role. Director Renny Harlin has just the film…and that is The Beast. The country is falling to a deadly invasion of dangerous operatives, and the President makes it away in the highest tech and dangerous limousine imaginable (the titular “The Beast”) while having a Secret Service officer bleeding out in the backseat. Joel Kinnaman joins Jackson on this thrill ride that arrives in theaters.
What does Harlin bring to the table from a directorial standpoint? Harlin hasn’t had a film of a real substance or impact since Deep Blue Sea back in 1999 that reached a pop cultural impact. For the better part of the 21st century, he has been throwing genre flicks at the wall to middling or subpar results. With The Beast, he might have found his most successful effort in years. That is not saying this is a great directorial effort but there is at least an awareness of what makes this story work and why audiences are tuning in. There is a reliance on special effects but the imagery outside the limousine offers up some brutal, action-packed, and devastating moments. The crazy gadgets come to life in the most chaotic and brutal ways. The editing is a little too clunky and you can tell there is a disconnect from the action inside the car and outside but there are enough thrills to keep it going. Tonally, the film swings a little wild. This is not a crazy, silly action experience. There is some seriousness and danger that attempts to elicit some genuine emotion (and Harlin is at times able to dial in and deliver on it).
Does Umair Aleem’s screenplay do any real heavy lifting for the experience? The Beast is a film that attempts to find some layers and depth in places. The President and this officer’s dialogue and conversation flesh them out in a decent way that makes them more three-dimensional than you might expect for such a film. The narrative does feel a little stretched and repetitive but there are enough quieter moments of character work to get the audience invested in them. The President’s need to find his wife makes for a poignant and meaningful anchor point for his actions. The unmarked, unnamed assailants perpetrating this coup have no real motivation that is understood and the film is aggressive in how apolitical it attempts to be. This is honestly quite annoying as it leaves the film feeling less impactful that way just not to upset anyone. There is an intriguing mechanism that is injected into the film that channels the President’s PTSD and trauma that follows him. But overall, this is a loose narrative that certainly feels overstretched for the 100-minute runtime.
Does the film offer up much from an acting standpoint? The film truly is a two-handed affair with Jackson and Kinnaman making up most of the screentime. Jackson delivers a strong performance that relies quite heavily on his impressive charisma. The electric presence that Jackson creates makes his character someone who can anchor such an enclosed story like this one. Kinnaman rises to the occasion and has some good chemistry with Jackson throughout the film. Their banter makes those quieter scenes more impactful. Kinnaman also sells the bleeding out well and creates some genuine pain and suffering on screen. Jackson sells his worry for the American people and especially for his wife quite well. The rest of the cast is only there for fleeting moments on screen or voice performances (which are perfectly fine).
Is The Beast the fun thrill ride that this premise seems to promise? You might be surprised to find out that The Beast is much more serious than you might expect. The thrills are certainly there with the bonkers action coming in quite consistently. But it is the two characters and their performers who sell a decent amount of emotion and impact in the film. Harlin’s film delivers just enough to make a solid outing with the experience feeling slightly overdone and overstretched.
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