The Beast Review: Samuel L. Jackson and Renny Harlin Deliver Old-School Action

PLOT: When a militia of unidentified hostiles coordinates a coup against the U.S., the president uncovers the extent of The Beast’s highly classified offensive capabilities in order to save his life and America.

REVIEW: It’s crazy to think that The Beast is Renny Harlin’s third film this year after The Strangers: Chapter 3 and Deep Water. That level of output tends to only come from super low-budget filmmakers, so it’s been interesting to see him take on such drastically different films, in such quantity. Yet quality can sometimes suffer in these cases, so I was a little trepidatious going into Harlin’s latest. Thankfully, Renny delivers his best work in years and gives a proper spotlight to one of the most charismatic actors out there.

The Beast follows the President of the United States as his convoy is attacked while in a foreign country. Thankfully, his vehicle, otherwise known as The Beast, is practically a tank with its armor plating, bulletproof glass, and offensive capabilities. He must drive to an extraction point while seemingly every bad guy in the country is trying to kill him. The film throws us right into the action, not even giving us any setup outside of an awkwardly long title scroll that explains what the vehicle can do. The convoy is already being attacked, and it’s pure chaos. Any other film would give us a boring first act where the President is meeting with foreign dignitaries, and we get the tension of an imminent attack. So I really appreciated that this film just goes: “You know what this movie is about, so let’s get right into it.”

Samuel L Jackson is having so much fun as The President, and this is far from the geezer-teaser that it may look on the surface. Jackson is fully invested, appearing in damn near every shot and being an active participant throughout. While most of the action takes place inside The Beast, there are some moments where Jackson gets to take out some guys, hand-to-hand. He’s extremely capable, and it’s impressive what he’s able to accomplish at 77 years old. It’s so entertaining to see him get so pissed off about the fact that the nearly trillion-dollar defense budget still wasn’t enough to keep him safe. And there’s a fun moment with his usual “motherf**ker” line, which I assume is contractually obligated at this point.

Joel Kinnaman’s Taft really just seems to be there as someone for Jackson to talk to occasionally. I expected him to be the muscle, always protecting the President, but he’s shot early and is bleeding out in the back for most of the runtime. It’s unexpected decisions like this that make The Beast stand out and feel a bit more unique. Every character that’s not Kinnaman or Jackson really just exists in order to die violently. Though I did like how much they were able to get me to care about The President’s Wife, who is an entirely offscreen presence.

Despite following the President of the United States, The Beast tries to avoid politics. This isn’t exactly a new concept, but the avoidance makes the messaging a bit all over the place. We don’t even get a proper explanation as to what the attack is even for, just that it’s not only US officials being targeted. It’s hard to get invested when it’s just a faceless boogeyman, whose full plan never comes fully into view.

The moment the Beast’s full capabilities are unlocked and unleashed upon the bad guys is a thing of beauty. Getting to see the weapon system absolutely tear through bad guys had me smiling from ear to ear. The problem is that the vehicle is so capable that the inhabitants essentially have to just keep forgetting to use it offensively. Multiple times, it’s only used when they’re cornered. This could have all been solved by simply introducing a recharge system for the weapons. Instead, they often just look incredibly stupid, with it always being utilized at the last moment to really milk the most out of the tension.

The blocking for the action scenes can also be poorly executed, with soldiers giving up defensive positions only to ignorantly advance and immediately get murdered. This is always a massive pet peeve of mine in action, so it’s disappointing to see it happen so often. Logic can often be thrown out the window. Hell, at one point, the main bad guy disappears off the hood of the Beast with absolutely zero explanation. Then, when they do finally reveal his location, it’s clear he would have been visible in prior shots. Feels like an editing mistake that could have been avoided.

Despite its flaws, The Beast is Harlin’s best film since Deep Blue Sea, providing non-stop action and thrills. Samuel L. Jackson is able to nail all the action beats, while also making you care for his character and want to see him make it out of this alive. Kinnaman is a bit underutilized, but it works for the role. While I wish that the bad guys were given a bit more characterization, it’s hard to deny this being one hell of an action flick. I was fully invested in The President’s journey, and I was pumping my fist every time he overcame the odds. And it’s always great to see Jackson take center stage and absolutely knock it out the park.

The Beast is playing in theaters on October 9th, 2026.

The Beast (2026)

GOOD

7

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