I was happy about two things. Seeing this movie took the bad taste out of my mouth that Idris Elba left from playing a genie in an upcoming film. And, I got to see him kick a lion and punch it in the face. Who doesn’t want to see that? All this talk about Elba being the next James Bond, a guy who takes out people with a gun and gadgets; Elba’s an OG that’s going to scrap with you out in the yard – even if you’re a lion twice his size and with sharp claws. Any guesses on who will win? Okay sure, this may be predictable, but it’s decent summer fun. It’s animals attacking; another Jurassic Park or Jaws (well, Jaws 3).
There’s a bit of rooting for the lion at times, when it’s merely taking revenge on the illegal poachers that killed his pride. You can’t blame him for wanting to kill all the humans as revenge.
Dr. Nate Samuels (Elba) has come to Africa to visit his friend Martin (Sharlto Copely), who introduced him to his late wife and who the daughters call Uncle. The daughters are played wonderfully by Leah Jeffries and Iyana Halley (although one starts to get annoying, to the point of you hoping the lion at least takes out her vocal chords). Oh come on, I kid. It’s just that all the family dysfunction has no place in a movie like this. I mean, I never saw Sharknado, but I’m guessing there weren’t dysfunctional family dramas playing out, just Great Whites flying through the air with their mouths open.
Anyway, a quick safari turns into a nightmare when a small village they come across has been ravaged by the rogue lion hellbent on revenge. When it messes up Uncle Martin, who cries uncle in a river surrounded by alligators, the lion starts hunting the dad and his pride (and joy) – his two daughters. The daughters have some difficulty following dad’s instructions, and there are many times logic goes out the window. The problem lies in Ryan Engle’s script. He’s lucky there’s such a talented cast to make this halfway decent. Copley gives off a vibe that shows he really loves the animals, and would be a guy you’d like to have a few glasses of wine with.
Director Baltasar Kormakur (Everest) gives us some stunning shots of Africa. The CGI works well, and it’s all paced nicely. There also isn’t gratuitous gore.
The finale is utterly ridiculous. It’s the equivalent of a horror movie that has a serial killer…who ends up dying at the hands of a housewife who goes downstairs in the basement to see what that noise was all about.
But, it would be a nice way to get out of the heat and go into an air conditioned movie theatre for a matinee showing.
2 ½ stars out of 5.