Former Green Beret James Belmont has too many wounds in body and soul, trying to enjoy retirement after years spent on the front lines. His only friend accompanying him is the wolfdog Odin, whose prosthetic limb recalls military service in the field. What should have been a pleasant trip for the two aboard a light tourist aircraft soon turns into tragedy. Injured, isolated, and stranded, they will be forced to face the wild Alaskan woods to reach civilization. 

There's a moment in Heart of the Beast where the suspension of disbelief begins to ask too much. James has just escaped a heart attack and fainting spell while piloting the plane, which crashed into an Alaskan lake, leaving him in a situation where even a perfectly fit man would struggle to cope. Yet moments later, after the violent impact, he dives into the icy waters to retrieve crates with essential survival gear from the bottom, drags them to the shore, and walks back to land.

Gallery

A Man, a Dog, and the Road to Destiny

Here, it's not so much the single episode that creates perplexity, but the accumulation. Cameron Alexander constructs the story as if James and his faithful Odin must overcome every possible misfortune before they can even think about resuming the path to salvation. Every time there seems to be a solution, something arrives to further complicate the situation. The result is a long chain of dramatic adversities that ends up resembling more a test of endurance imposed by the screenplay than a truly plausible journey.

David Ayer still maintains a good control of the pace. He doesn't turn the film into a continuous race and allows space for the relationship between James and Odin, which undoubtedly represents the most touching and successful aspect of the operation. Man and dog help each other, and both contribute to making the story more human.

Brad Pitt tackles the role with the necessary physicality and restraint; his character's military past and the trauma of his experiences are used without excessively weighing down the narrative, although some emotional turns are accompanied by a rather evident search for pathos.

It is precisely here that Heart of the Beast ends up losing some of its effectiveness. The journey through Alaska could have worked better with a greater attention to the plausibility of the difficulties faced. Instead, the film continues to add obstacles, accidents, and extreme situations until the protagonist's misfortune almost transforms into an autonomous character.

Of course, it would be unfair to dismiss it as a bad film. Ayer knows how to portray the environment, here incredibly airy in contrast to the claustrophobic one of the tank in Fury, maintains constant tension, and above all effectively builds the bond between James and Odin. The problem is that by continually testing them, it ends up challenging the viewer's patience. More than a struggle against nature, Heart of the Beast thus becomes a challenge between the two protagonists and the script, apparently determined not to grant any escape route.