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"We had a deal. And where I come from, a deal is a deal."

It's so much fun to watch a movie in which two individuals chase each other and a cat and mouse game begins resulting in a battle to the death. Recently we saw two Hollywood stars try this theme in "Killing Season". It wasn't exactly an impressive film and after a while the ping-pong game between the two opponents started to irritate. For "Beyond the reach" an old class act of Hollywood was recruited. Only this time it's a unilateral hunt pattern that's being showed here. Unfortunately, the film collapses like a failed soufflé at the end. For once it's something that most film critics unanimously agree with. This time there are no diametrically opposed camps with contrarian views. This film had a promising start with chilling tension and an acclaimed chemistry between the two main characters. But the absurd and completely messed up ending screwed it completely and made absolutely no sense.

Madec (Michael Douglas) is a pedantic rich man with an arrogant attitude, who acts as if the whole universe turns around his own little person. He arrives in a tiny village along the Mojave desert to hunt a bighorn (probably a missing trophy on the wall). Ben (Jeremy Irvine) is hired for this task. He's a young guy who's well known as the best tracker in that environment. Before you know it, they are on the move in a giant fairground attraction on 6 wheels (worth $ 500,000 and imported) equipped with satellite telephone, espresso machine, microwave oven and a remote-controlled music system. Madec has spared no expense for this trip and is also equipped with a Steyr Scout 308 imported from Austria. In retrospect, he's also quite generous when it appears that he doesn't really have a permit to shoot down the rare animal. Madec is a typical snob who thinks everything is for sale. Until the hunt ends in a catastrophe and he accidentally shoots the local desert dweller Charlie. Charlie is someone Ben knew for a long time already and probably learned him some tricks of survival and how to live in the wilderness. How it proceeds can be guessed easily. Ben suddenly becomes the hunted one in this relentless, scorching desert.

The last movie I've watched with Douglas starring in, is "Last Vegas". Overall this wasn't a bad film and I watched it with pleasure. Yet Douglas fits better in a role as a charismatic manipulator and overwhelming bastard. A role as in "Falling Down" or "Fatal Attraction". It was a pleasure to see him again shining as a sadistic,unassailable bad ass. Irvine also meets the expectations and apparently spent several hours in the gym. His upper body is more muscular than the one he showed in "The railway man." His character stands in stark contrast to that of Douglas. An orphaned young man whose girlfriend just left him to start her studies at the university and for whom everyday life is financially more difficult than that of Madec. His battle against the elements in the desert was realistic and proved again he owns some excellent acting skills. Also the people of the makeup department deserve a pat on the shoulder.

The highlight of the film is undeniably the acting of Douglas. The sadistic game that he plays in the sweltering desert and how he enjoys seeing his prey slowly but surely reaching the end, is absolutely top notch acting. The absolute worst part is the denouement. Not that it's inconceivable (because everything can be bought with money), but it's so abrupt. An excellent movie with an intriguing interplay that's being performed for more than an hour, is being reduced into a pale third-rate thriller in sheer 10 minutes. Was there a plausible ending, than this would have been a masterful film.

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"Beyond this point there will be monsters." Ben (Irvine) is a master tracker and guide who has been hired my Madec (Douglas), a rich businessman. After leading him out to a barren desert wasteland Madec's true colors come out. Now, facing a dangerous situation, Ben must find a way out, alive and in time to warn others. This movie isn't really anything amazing but it is also entertaining and very watchable. I did like the movie but one thing kept bugging me about it the entire time. Michael Douglas is a sharpshooter and ruthless, yet the entire movie revolves around him trying to kill Ben. I would think one shot could do it...on the other hand if that happened there would be no movie. All that out of the way though the movie is tense in some parts, but becomes somewhat repetitive and loses steam toward the end. Again though, I did like this and this is not a bad rent. Overall, nothing amazing, but it is entertaining enough to keep you watching for the entire hour and a half. I give this a B-.

Greetings from Lithuania.

"Beyond the Reach" (2014) is nice little flick for some boring evening. It has nothing special, nothing original, nothing really great yet it is an enjoyable thriller, but with a bad ending, very bad ending.

Michael Douglas was the first and only reason why i saw this flick in the first place. He does not disappoint, but sadly there is almost absolutely nothing to do in here for THIS caliber actor. Jeremy Irvine is quite good in here, but the role doesn't requires much except for physical suffering.

Overall, "Beyond the Reach" was nice little flick. I enjoyed for what it was, but the ending was terrible. That wouldn't happen in real life not in a million years. Who wrote THAT bad ending?

Occasionally we all get needy. So Ben, a young hunting guide, may perhaps be forgiven for taking a large bribe from an arrogant, ridiculously wealthy and fearless client. The two descend into the Mojave Desert wilderness in order to hunt bighorn out of season. There are many red flags to this, yet Ben's girlfriend just left for college and he is left considering if solitude and poverty are in his future. Deep into the desert it is not long before an incident occurs that sets Ben and Madec, a C.E.O. with a sport utility vehicle that costs over half a million dollars, at odds with each other. It is the old-school-young versus the new-technology-old in a delicious thriller. Michael Douglas, starring as Madec, returns to his stock and trade as a depraved and greedy man who lets no one get in the way of himself and his obsessions. Douglas gives a fine performance, yet he can't carry the film on his own. It is far-fetched, shallow and disjointed at times. The film is, however, compelling and fulfilling in its story and the possibilities it presents. It gives truth to Melville's saying that "an utterly fearless companion is a far more dangerous comrade than a coward." Seen at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.

A small scale thriller in a very wide setting. The Mojave dessert. Off course this film is predictable yet it still had it's surprises and it has a brilliant turn from Michael Douglas as the pervertedly rich and megalomanic exec out on a hunting trip. He is nicely countered by the young guide he takes along as they soon run into a whole heap of unexpected trouble.

This is mostly Jeremy Irvine's film and he does a fine job but it's Douglas who shines in his role. It's almost as if Gordon Gecko has finally made it big and is now wasting his days and money shooting big game all over the world.

The story has plenty of tense and painful moments and some glorious views of the surroundings. The ending however was pretty abrupt. Without going into detail: I was okay with the ending... until it went on. Those last minutes were just so ridiculous they almost ruined the film. It just did not fit the mood of the rest of the story.

Apparently this story has been done before, some 40 years ago, don't know which film, but I know I've seen it more recently starring Lance Henriksen and Luke Goss. The film "Bone Dry". Very comparable, at least as nice as this one and without the ridiculous ending.

So overall pretty good, great turn from Mr Douglas but just walk away at 85 min. 6/10