There are plenty of movies where a man gets trapped in a battle for survival with a natural threat. And there are even a few movies where men fight lions. (The Ghost and the Darkness, anyone?) But I’m not sure there’s ever been a movie where a guy literally fought a lion — punched him right in the mouth! — before. So that, if nothing else, makes Beast unique.
The upcoming summer thriller stars Idris Elba in what otherwise looks like a very grounded survival thriller about a dude caught in the African wilderness, where he and his family is stalked by a man-eating lion. Most of the movie is Elba’s character trying to drive or run away from the beast. In the trailer’s last seconds, though, Elba appears to get into a one-on-one, mano-a-pawo rumble with the dang jungle cat. Then he smacks it in the face!
There is now a new meaning for the term “pure cinema”: Idris Elba punching lions in the face. Take a look for yourself:
Here is the film’s official synopsis:
Elba plays Dr. Nate Daniels, a recently widowed husband who returns to South Africa, where he first met his wife, on a long-planned trip with their daughters to a game reserve managed by Martin Battles (Sharlto Copley, Russian Doll series, Maleficent), an old family friend and wildlife biologist. But what begins as a journey of healing jolts into a fearsome fight for survival when a lion, a survivor of blood-thirsty poachers who now sees all humans as the enemy, begins stalking them.
I hate when a journey of healing ends with me punching a lion in the face! Beast is scheduled to open exclusively in theaters on August 19.
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