Nate Samuels: Last News

Idris Elba is no stranger to action and thrills. But for his latest movie, BEAST, the actor got to tap into his own experiences as a father to make the tension come to life. BEAST follows the plight of the recently widowed Dr.

Peter Debruge Chief Film CriticNo animals were harmed in the making of “Beast.” Frankly, it doesn’t look like any animals were even used in the making of “Beast,” but if you can get past the idea that the two-ton lion threatening Idris Elba and his family in the movie is a singularly frightening combination of ones and zeros, not killer instinct and claws, then “Beast” is a blast.A white-knuckle “When Animals Attack!” movie in the tradition of “Jaws” and “Anaconda,” this big-budget, big-screen release features A-list actors — OK, actor, singular — and a director who knows what he’s doing: Icelandic ace Baltasar Kormákur, who cut his teeth on such nightmare-inducing man-against-nature films as “Everest” and “Adrift.” Here, the threat is a very big, very angry African cat, understandably agitated after a group of poachers slaughtered his pride, that has decided to kill every human that crosses his path. Seriously, the body count in this movie is off the charts.

Clayton Davis Idris Elba is undeniably the star of Will Packer’s latest movie, “Beast,” but the family story at the heart of Universal’s release was a big draw for the producer who previously shepherded “Girls Trip.” In the movie, debuting in theaters Aug. 19, Elba plays Nate Samuels, a recently widowed doctor who returns to South Africa with his two teenage daughters (Iyana Halley and Leah Sava Jeffries) and must fight to survive from a man-hunting lion.Packer sought to offer a balance for the late summer movie calendar.

Antonio Ferme editorIdris Elba is teasing his potential return as the DC Comics assassin Bloodshot.“I would definitely like to tell the Superman story. There’s no doubt,” Elba tells Variety.