La bête

If only they had added "I have a particular set of skills..." it might have been better.

Netflix advertises this film well showing Fabrizio Gifuni as a tough, no nonsense, 'get the job done' ex-military father who is central to the movie. Sadly though, the film didn't meet the hope or expectations I had for it.

The good and the bad:

• When the end graphic 'La Belva' (The Beast) is better than the movie, you know something went wrong.
• From a broad view the story is fine, even if it has been told many times: A young family member is kidnapped leaving the father to get them back.
• Fabrizio Gifuni almost looks the part, grizzled with an over the top beard. However, for a man who supposedly spent 30 years in special forces he is a scrawny
• Stemming from the last point, the only relevance I can see in learning he was in special forces for 30 years was to give the impression he has a 'particular set of skills which make men like him dangerous to people who might kidnap his daughter'. However, he doesn't display any more skill than a determined father who can handle himself.
• The film fails to develop the characters leaving the viewer not caring much for them. For example, we don't learn much about the young girl who is kidnapped other than her big brother leaves her eating chips at a table where, predictably, it all goes wrong.
• Typical to the Italian stereotype, the film has great hype but no substance.

The negatives could go on, but it would be like shooting fish in a barrel (i.e. easy).

La Belva (2020) is not a film I will remember, and much like Sabotage (2014) this review will be the only reminder I once saw it.

Liam Neeson has held a tough guy/image of a father since TAKEN. After five minutes THE BEAST starts I can see so many similarities. But THE BEAST is missing one key element: the power of kick after each punch. Movies like these are not just about the family/love bond, but also seek "violence". The title is violent but not the content. From many scenes I can see the actor is trying to catch breath which is something you don't see in Liam Neeson's. BTW the soundtrack where his past is described is nice, trying to find the title of the song lol.

In general, it's not bad but if you are looking for movies that can bring you excitement or help you shake off chose from reality then you may want to choose another one.

This movie is watchable, but not as good as I had hoped. Guy just gets his ass kicked most of the time. Should have gave the script to Scott Adkins.

All the comments here about the leads poor fighting skills - in the real world people don't fight like Jason Bourne and John Wick, fighting is thuggish and brutal, with little finesse and the character is called the Beast for Pete's sake. But when you've been raised on a diet of sterile Hollywood pap of the past few decades then it's understandable that you think fighting should be stylised, clinical and frankly boring. This film was by no means perfect, but it is a solid 6.

La Belva is a stylishly-made-but-ultimately-generic actioner with a father-saves-daughter plot that's been done to death. Leonida Riva is an ex-army veteran suffering from PTSD and has partially disconnected himself from his wife and children. When his little daughter gets kidnapped, he revives the beast inside of him to get her back. A film that goes the 'Taken' route with slightly more layered characters, La Belva's strength lies in its set-pieces. Though there's nothing we haven't already seen, there's some beauty in the staging of a car chase or a good ol' fashioned fist-fight.

As in the case of action thrillers, fallacies (Riva infiltrates places with ease) in continuity and logic are conveniently ignored. The climactic finale gets over even before it begins; the weakest of all. Fabrizio Gifuni's rugged, tough-man act is befitting the film's plot, while the rest of the cast is adequate. La Belva offers nothing new to the genre, but as an action-movie fanatic, it didn't put me to sleep either.