Brad Pitt and Uber in “Heart of the Beast.”
Paramount Pictures
Brad Pitt’s adventure thriller Heart of the Beast is winning over the hearts of Rotten Tomatoes’ critics.
Directed by David Ayer, Heart of the Beast plays in preview screenings on Thursday before opening in theaters nationwide on Friday. In the film, Pitt stars as Special Forces officer James Belmont, who, along with his combat dog, Odin (Uber), survives a plane crash deep in the Alaskan wilderness. With both of their lives in grave danger, James and Odin must protect each other as they encounter harsh elements and vicious predators in the wild.
Rated PG-13, Heart of the Beast also stars J.K. Simmons and Anna Lambe.
The review embargo for Heart of the Beast lifted on Tuesday and the film so far has earned a 92% “fresh” critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer based on 37 reviews. RT’s Critics Consensus, Audience Summary and Popcornmeter score based on verified user ratings are pending.
Heart of the Beast marks the reunion of Pitt and Ayer, 12 years after the actor starred in the director’s 2014 war drama Fury. By contrast, Fury — which also starred Shia LaBeouf, Jon Bernthal, Michael Peña and Scott Eastwood — earned a 75% “fresh” critics’ score on RT based on 262 reviews. Fury fared much better with audiences, though, who awarded the film an 84% “fresh” Popcornmeter score based on 100,000-plus verified user ratings.
Note: The RT critics’ score for “Heart of the Beast” will be updated once more reviews are posted on the site.
What Are Individual Critics Saying About ‘Heart Of The Beast’?
Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter is among RT’s critics who give Heart of the Beast a “fresh” score, writing, “Don’t be fooled. Heart of the Beast is actually a love story, and one of the most moving to come along in a long time. That it’s a love story between a man and his dog doesn’t at all detract from its emotional impact.”
Owen Gleiberman of Variety also gives the film a “fresh” score, writing in his RT review summary, “There’s a way to sum up Heart of the Beast, and that’s by saying, “This is a terrific performance — and Brad Pitt is extremely good too.”
Robbie Cullen of the Daily Telegraph is also a fan of Heart of the Beast. Cullen writes in his “fresh” RT review summary, “Pitt, Ayer, Uber and their collaborators are not reinventing the wheel here, but rather crafting the sturdiest entertainment of its type that they can. Much like lovely Odin, it is a film that knows exactly where its loyalties lie.”
Lindsey Bahr of The Associated Press gives Heart of the Beast a “fresh” score, too, but she has some reservations. Bahr writes on RT, “It never strays far from the formula, but while often predictable, occasionally implausible and sometimes even straight propaganda, it’s an effectively thrilling adventure and Pitt can shed a tear (actually, many) like the best of them.”
Nick Schager of The Daily Beast also points out the emotion of Heart of the Beast, writing in his “fresh” take on RT, “A survivalist adventure that won’t make anyone forget Jack London but may, by its conclusion, compel bros to reach for the nearest box of Kleenex.”
Giovanni Lago of Next Best Picture is among the few critics on RT who give Heart of the Beast a “rotten” score, writing, “Inoffensive, family-forward storytelling, and bombarded with American iconography, this is the bread and butter that makes Heart of the Beast work, even if its enjoyability is as sporadic as the heart attacks that plague James throughout the film.”
Heart of the Beast plays in Thursday previews before opening in theaters nationwide on Friday.
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