‘Heart of the Beast’ looks better than it sometimes feels

By Janet Grant

Ex-military Brad Pitt and a loyal military dog fight to survive the Alaskan wilderness in a film that looks better than it sometimes feels.

There is something immediately appealing about Heart of the Beast. Put Brad Pitt, a retired military dog and the Alaskan wilderness together, and you have the ingredients for a gripping survival movie. Unfortunately, the ingredients do not always come together.

Pitt plays James, a former Special Forces soldier who crashes in the wilderness with Odin, his retired combat dog. With no easy way out, the two face freezing water, brutal terrain, wild animals and the constant threat of death.

The relationship between James and Odin is easily the film’s strongest element.
Odin is more than a prop to this story. The dog has personality, intelligence and a believable connection with James. The film’s best moments come when the two have to rely on each other. Pitt wisely keeps his performance fairly restrained, letting the physical struggle and his connection with Odin do most of the work.

The scenery is another star.

Although the story is set in Alaska, much of the film was shot in New Zealand’s South Island, including the spectacular area around Glenorchy and Lake Wakatipu. The mountains, rivers, forests and icy landscapes are enormous and unforgiving. The location gives the film a sense of scale. That is where Heart of the Beast starts to lose me.

The survival challenges become increasingly predictable. When James and Odin appear to have survived one obstacle, another one arrives. After a while, the pattern becomes obvious. The film keeps raising the physical danger without always giving us enough emotional reason to care about what happens next.

The military backstory is also less interesting than the wilderness adventure. The flashbacks slow the film down and explain things we could have discovered more naturally through the characters.

There are magical moments when Heart of the Beast feels like a great survival movie waiting for a stronger script.

Pitt gives it credibility. Odin gives it heart. New Zealand gives it breathtaking scenery. But the film needed more than spectacular landscapes and increasingly dangerous situations. It needed a story that took as many risks emotionally as it does physically.

The bond between James and Odin is the heart of the film.

I wish the rest of the movie had been as strong.

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