Beast is the classic underdog sports movie—just with a lot more blood. It hits all the notes that people who love sports films expect, and gets them to the adrenaline-fueled conclusion they’ll be craving. And getting them there is a human freight train: star Daniel MacPherson, doing what he does best in every respect.

This is an MMA (mixed martial arts) film, and marketed as such, but Beast will appeal to people who’ve never watched an MMA fight in their life. That happens because the story is so tried and true. The hero—in this case MacPherson’s character Patton James—starts out on top of the world, takes a very hard fall, and then after tragedy strikes, is motivated to get back into action. There aren’t many genuinely surprising moments in Beast, but there don’t need to be, because audiences want to see that story. They want to watch Patton get off the mat and back into the ring. They want a bad guy they can love to hate. And this film serves up all of that.

Underdog stories rest on the shoulders of their hero, and MacPherson brings everything the movie needs to the table. He’s absolutely believable as a guy who was once the best middleweight fighter in the world. It’s very clear that he can kick anyone’s ass. (For those of us who watched Strike Back, that is the Daniel MacPherson we are used to. If you’re reading this review and somehow haven’t, please do so immediately after seeing Beast.) One flaw of sports movies is the hyperbole, hearing how great the hero is or was, but not always feeling that. In MacPherson’s case, Patton’s bonafides are never in doubt.

But as much if not more importantly, MacPherson has the acting talent to give the film necessary depth. The biggest danger in sports movies of any kind is that they can focus so much on the competition that everything else in the movie feels like filler until the next game or the next fight. Yet Patton is a character whom audiences can emotionally connect with. MacPherson gives such an expressive performance that the viewer always knows what Patton is feeling, whether or not he’s fighting. In that sense, Beast is reminiscent of the underrated short film Welcome to the Powder Keg, which starred another fantastic actor, Gethin Anthony, in a similar fighter’s dilemma. There was just as much emotional pain in that film as there was physical, and MacPherson brings the same intensity to Beast, to truly get audiences on side.

Beast reunites him with Land of Bad costars Russell Crowe and Luke Hemsworth, as well as that film’s screenwriter David Frigerio. Crowe—who is also credited as a co-writer—gets the showier role of Patton’s former trainer Sammy, with whom he subsequently had a falling-out. Crowe is perfect for the snappish veteran part, because viewers will be thinking that he could’ve easily played the fighter role not so long ago. That gives him an additional credibility when Sammy starts tearing into Patton. Hemsworth has less to do as Gabriel Stone, the disreputable agent of Patton’s equally disreputable nemesis, but he seems to be having a great time doing it.

Said nemesis is Xavier Grau, played by The Last Ship‘s Bren Foster, who is also credited as the fight coordinator on Beast. The script does everything to make him a character people will absolutely hate, from dirty conduct in the ring to being a general annoyance almost every time he appears on screen. There is a different film here with more nuance to Grau’s character; there are flashes in Foster’s performance of someone who might actually have a heart, and that would change everything. However, there’s not time for that, so the villain remains underdeveloped. All credit to Foster, though, for fully committing to the infuriating bits so that the audience wants to be the one to punch him in the face.

The core cast is rounded out by Kelly Gale as Patton’s wife Luciana, Mojean Aria as his wayward brother Malon, Amy Shark as Sammy’s daughter and Patton’s new trainer Rose, and George Burgess as Patton’s friend turned unlikely training partner Neal. To say much about their characters would be risking spoilers, but all fill their expected character types solidly. Burgess also has Beast‘s one genuinely laugh-out-loud moment, not long before the saddest scene in the film.

Beast also boasts some involvement from ONE Championship; part of the film was shot during ONE 170. This gives the film some extra authenticity and helps it to feel as big as possible when it needs to feel massive. There are some stylistic issues; the dramatic underscore intrudes in several key moments. Director Tyler Atkins—audiences might know his name as the winner of Season 1 of Australia’s Amazing Race—also makes a few odd choices behind the camera. One pivotal scene loses all of its momentum when it drops into slow motion; it would have been better to ride the wave of adrenaline naturally. The audience wants to go where the movie wants them to, so the direction simply needs to get out of the way.

That’s what makes Beast worth watching. It’s not going to reinvent the wheel; the audience will come in with certain preconceptions. But it fulfills all of those expectations completely. MacPherson’s performance, by turns rampaging and affecting, gives the movie the heart it needs to make all of the bloody fight scenes worthwhile. It may not be perfect, but this is the kind of exciting escape that movie theaters were made for.

Beast is in movie theaters now. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.

Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.