Heart of the Beast

Heart of the Beast features a dashing hunk with a great mane of hair, sparkling eyes full of careworn soul and a winning performance that conveys subtly shifting emotion with naught but the cock of his head.

But enough about Uber, who plays combat service dog Odin. David Ayer’s latest also features the director’s old Fury star Brad Pitt as James Belmont, a bruised-hearted Green Beret who lost his entire company in Iraq and has since retired with his beloved German Shepherd, who lost a leg.

The buddies didn’t just leave war behind; they’ve retreated from the rat race altogether, flying into the austere Alaskan wilderness in a Cessna and setting up camp next to an azure lake swaddled with ancient spruce.

Of course, in these always-on times it’s impossible to grab a minute’s peace even in the wilds. Pitt’s Burn After Reading co-star JK Simmons is soon blundering into the midst of their wooded walk as camouflaged kayaker Watkins. He nearly gets his ankles shorn off by Odin for the imposition, but thankfully he’s not a Deliverance type.

Instead, the men settle into fireside brown ales before the older gent paddles off in the morning, warning about a storm rolling in. Something you think a special forces guy would be on top of, but James seems caught out, suffering an exceedingly poorly timed health mishap as he soars above the maelstrom, plunging him and Odin into the frozen lake.

Spun from a long-circulating Black List screenplay by debut feature writer Cameron Alexander, what follows is an endurance-testing survival trial full of nature’s wildest pitfalls – often quite literally – replete with ornery stags, wolves and bears. (As ever, the animal CGI isn’t all that convincing.)

The End of Watch director has a keen grip on the rough-and-tumble action. Unlike Jacob Elordi’s comically pristine duds in The Dog Stars, costume designer Amanda Neale’s fits for Pitt actually look as worn as his tattooed body. He enjoys brilliant chemistry with Uber, and his stunt double, Joel Abadal, does heroic work that’s blended seamlessly. Bookend appearances by Anna Lambe feel tacked on and spoilery, by comparison, through no fault of the True Detective actor.

Ayer loves a men-with-guns movie, and he can’t help slipping in a handful of rah-rah combat flashbacks here. Happily, Heart of the Beast is mostly a gentler, more emotional film, with Training Day cinematographer Mauro Fiore making the most of the epic canvas – and Uber stealing the show from his A-list co-star.

In cinemas worldwide Fri Sep 25.