La bête

That Italian flick tries something already used and overused by the US film industry: a former Special Forces member suffering of post traumatic disorder and whose daughter was abducted. I expected something new from this European film, especially released on Netflix, I expected something daring, more brutal, gritty, why not nasty, disgusting, disturbing. But directing and acting are more than OK though.

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.

They say there is nothing like Mama Bear (I think they say that, but you know what I mean in any case) ... well get a hold of Papa Bear(d)! He ain't playing around either. Seemingly unstoppable - or is he? One thing is for sure, he aims for the throat and he goes right for the target. No distractions and alll that other stuff police has to worry about.

Which of course make him a target for the police too. A very down and dirty movie ... gritty and unapologetic! With a main performance that is quite mesmerizing to say the least. If that sounds like something you can agree and watch, than look no further. So can you dig it? And can you stomach it?

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.