Beast Race

Landing on a Leap of Faith

As you scroll through channels on Pikashow you stop at “Beast Race,” mainly because of the title, and the description of a futuristic dirty Rio. The first minutes of any movie are super important to keep the audience’s attention and this movie starts off well. We enter a world of a young resistance leader, who has a sick sister and must enter a deadly parkour competition to escape. While this might sound cliche, the setting of futuristic Rio which was directed by Fernando Meirelles with other directors such as Rodrigo Pesavento and Ernesto Solis, creates a unique experience. These initial scenes will probably show crazy parkour movements and will capture the audience’s attention. Our main character is Matheus Abreu and he has to capture all the feelings of desperation in the role. Parkour activities can be dangerous and attract action lovers. There is an R-rating on this movie due to possible violence and falls. It is very visual and high risk and will likely have a lot of action.

Gripping the Edge of Your Seat

In the film “Beast Race”, after the 1st hook and for 2 hours and 4 minutes, the actual film starts. “Future Rio” creates a promise and sells hope of an eyeful with its crooked favela buildings and corporate skyscrapers, neon lights, and the entire evolving and decaying city. The parkour sequences need to be shot with an immersive quality that captures the heights and squeezes so that the viewer can feel the movement and the danger as a human. The sound should match the design as the scraping of a shoe can be matched to the anticipation of an athlete and the beats of a futuristic score can provide the atmosphere. When dealing with a competition-based narrative, the pacing can be tricky and so are the personal stakes. Does film see the sister’s crisis as a separate part of the adrenaline of the race or two different films? A good action sequence can take a lot, a film with a duration of 2 hours plus requires more than stunts. Characters that you believe in and a world that feels real and not merely painted.

If the directors keep the action moving while also keeping the emotional stakes high, this film could have that binge-pull. Perhaps audiences will feel the desire to keep racing to the next twist in the resistance plot.

The Final Flip Test: Stay or Go?

Is “Beast Race” worth a watch, or is your time better spent on a live game of cricket or a sitcom? This depends on how much you appreciate gritty, emotional action films. If you want something visually stunning, this is the film for you. With scenes of the future Rio de Janeiro featuring dystopian scenery, you will be taken on an adrenaline-promising experience. Futuristic Rio is the perfect parkour setting to fill your need for unique experiences. It is a shame that most of the marketing for this film focused on the futuristic Rio setting and the intense parkour scenes. If it was a competition-based movie like “The Hunger Games” or if the personal story of saving a sister becomes a bit redundant, there will come a point when the remote control will be seeking something with a bit more narrative depth. Beast Race is not a film that brings new themes, but for people who want a good chase and some thrilling action, this is going to be an amazing experience. If you want to look for more profound themes, you are better off choosing something else.