Brad Pitt and military working dog Odin head deep into the wilderness in Heart of the Beast, an emotional survival drama about loyalty, perseverance, and the bond between a soldier and his canine companion.
Combat service dogs, or military working dogs (MWDs), are specialized canines trained to assist military personnel in active combat zones. Often, they are the unsung heroes who get no credit for the role they play in wartime operations and, if they come home at all, they typically show signs of the same PTSD symptoms that our human soldiers do. However, they can be fiercely loyal to their human counterparts, and they often form lifelong bonds with the soldiers they serve alongside. The new Paramount Pictures drama, Heart of the Beast, gives audiences an intimate look at one such hero and his "ride or die" companion.
Odin (Uber) and his owner, James Belmont (Brad Pitt; Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood), live pretty much off the grid. They camp in the Alaskan wilderness, live off the land, and don't often go into town. However, James isn't well, and one day, while he is flying his Cessna, he has a heart attack, and they crash deep in the wilderness. With few supplies and James not at 100%, they begin the 50-plus-mile trek to the closest town. Unfortunately, after other trials and tribulations along the way, only one of the two survives to make it back to civilization.
If Pitt were going to make an Oscar run in 2026, this would be the film he would do it with, as most of the movie is him and Uber alone in the wilderness. He does a good job of keeping the story moving along while trying not to be upstaged by a dog. Uber is beautiful and sweet and incredibly well-trained. The only other characters in the film are Anna Lambe (True Detective), who helps our survivor at the end of the movie, and J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) as a fellow wilderness wanderer who briefly crosses paths with James and Odin. There are no other actors in the film besides some CGI wolves and a bear.
The cinematography is spectacular and makes me not only yearn to return to Alaska (where the film is supposed to be located), but also to make a trip to New Zealand, where the movie was actually shot. The sweeping, snow-covered mountains look incredibly majestic, if foreboding, and the water seems crystal clear and clean. The woodland scenes show lush trees full of foliage in varying hues of green that make it seem as if you could almost taste the cold, fresh air as you take in a deep breath.
Director David Ayer (Suicide Squad) is known for making action films and using interesting camera angles, and Heart of the Beast isn't a departure for him. He alternates wide, establishing shots with closer, more intimate ones, but never does an extreme close-up. Sadly, his pacing on this film is a little bit off, but that may simply be the nature of this kind of movie. There are a few gripping, heart-pounding scenes followed by approximately a half-hour of watching James and Odin walking through the woods and/or interacting. I personally found many of those quieter moments boring.
The other issue I have with the film is the script itself. I can see James and Odin having a mishap or two, but one after another after another becomes overkill after a while, and I found myself rolling my eyes and thinking, "Come on, really?!?" The ending is also somewhat predictable and, of course, bring your tissues because even the coldest of hearts will melt a little by the ending.
I can appreciate the canine service members as well as our veterans, and I can see why someone would want to make a feature film with those characters, but this one just didn't engage me as much as I would have hoped.
Grade: C+
