Heart of the Beast, 2026.
Directed by David Ayer.
Starring Brad Pitt, Uber, J.K. Simmons, and Anna Lambe.
SYNOPSIS:
After a harrowing plane crash, a Special Forces officer and his combat dog find themselves stranded deep in the Alaskan wilderness. Together, they are forced into a brutal fight for survival against the elements.
A survival drama at its core, with man and man’s best friend picking one another up and pushing each other forward amid several perilous encounters, director David Ayer’s Heart of the Beast (from a screenplay by Cameron Alexander) is also a restrained, if not necessarily entirely subtle, look at PTSD in soldiers and, more uniquely, combat canines. Living the simple life on a camping trip in the Alaskan wilderness alongside his retired Special Forces officer owner, James Belmont (Brad Pitt), Odin (played by a quartet of dogs despite being credited in the trailer as one dog with the same name) has nightmares in the sleeping tent, dreaming he is back on a battlefield. We hear what he hears (explosions, bullets whizzing by) as he awakes, whimpering, quickly being comforted by James and reassured that they’re not there anymore.
It’s already refreshing that a film is concerned with trauma in a dog and the aftereffects of such deployments in the field, complete with lasting injuries (Odin lost a leg, now replaced with a metal prosthetic) and scars, not to mention psychological wounds, such as being unable to remain calm or not growl at strangers, as a world-weary wanderer played by a grizzled J.K. Simmons finds out before James once again reassures safety, subsequently hanging out together for the night. The dog isn’t merely a sidekick, but a fully fleshed-out and tortured character himself, struggling to live a normal life.
One wishes that the filmmakers had an interest in reflective exploration pertaining to the ethics of dogs being in war zones to begin with, but the most here is exposition on both of their battle scars and flashback montage glimpses of that whirlwind chaos, demonstrating that James saw Odin as another brother in arms and would risk his life to save him (it’s mostly just snippets of action for action’s sake with little context, and presumably because it helps sell the movie in a trailer).
With that said, they take what could have been unbearably emotionally manipulative and find the soul: A veteran and combat dog, both PTSD-stricken, alone and helpless following a plane crash on the way home, trekking 50+ miles across that wilderness (exquisitely shot by Avatar cinematographer Mauro Fiore), battling the elements, standing off against other carnivores (finally, filmmakers that realize shooting them from a distance or at night will help hide the obvious CGI fakeness), and treating numerous sustained injuries is a catnip premise for a country that loves war, soldiers (though not enough to actually take care of them upon returning home), and dogs that easily could have become the most saccharine, heavy-handed version of itself.
Barring an unnecessary in media res opening that slightly robs the experience of some suspense, this surface-level cheapness is not only transcended by the previously mentioned thoughtful examination of such trauma, but also by the remarkably moving bond Brad Pitt, who continues to discover new ways to flex true captivating star power, and Odin share. Simply put, Brad Pitt has magnetic chemistry with a canine who clearly has an affinity for him, and reaction shots of his own that ooze everything from concern to gutsy good-boy courage.
The set pieces themselves, which include the initiating incidental plane crash, encounters with a bear (one almost starts asking themselves how badly Brad Pitt may have wanted the Oscar Leonardo DiCaprio won), precarious walks along tree branch bridges, with maybe one of the most painful-looking bone crack-back-into-place maneuvers ever put to screen, deep diving for supplies alongside other dangerous underwater bits, and more, all carry a sense of weight, realism, thrill, and even an unflinching grittiness to the graphic body wounds and practical makeup effects that are trademark David Ayer. There is no denying the demanding physical challenges Brad Pitt rises to here.
David Ayer captures the agonizing toll this quest for survival and journey to the open road takes on James and Odin, deepening their bond into something unbreakable. Heart of the Beast isn’t solely inspirational for indomitable spirits, or its tearjerking portrait of friendship; it ends on a bittersweet note about a rehabilitation into society of sorts, quietly connecting an earlier narrative thread. It’s a story told with as much heart as the titular beast.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder
