Heart of the Beast review: Brad Pitt, a dog and Alaska
Brad Pitt crashes a plane in Alaska and has to walk home with his combat dog. It’s earnest, flag-waving and soppy in places, but Pitt still holds the screen.
Reviewed, edited and approved by Editor-in-chief Daniel Sköld · Updated 25 October 2026
Contents
Every man of a certain age has a survival fantasy. It usually involves a Ray Mears paperback, a decent knife and the quiet belief that he’d do better than the bloke on telly drinking his own wee. Heart of the Beast is that fantasy at Hollywood scale. Brad Pitt plays the man who actually knows what he’s doing, and the wilderness is Alaska rather than a wet weekend in the Cairngorms.
The pitch is simple: one man, one dog, a crashed plane and a very long walk. The question is whether that’s enough for 101 minutes, and whether you’ll need tissues. Short answers: nearly, and probably.
Premiere2026-09-19
GenreAdventure, Thriller
CastBrad Pitt, J.K. Simmons, Anna Lambe, Justin Melnick
Directed byDavid Ayer
Running time101 min
Rated12A
Watch onIn cinemas
74%
AD
A man, his dog and a very bad landing
Pitt plays James Belmont, a retired Special Forces officer whose light aircraft goes down deep in the Alaskan backcountry. He’s flying alone except for Odin, his former combat dog, a German shepherd who has his own scars from the same wars. What follows is a straightforward fight against the elements: rivers, cold, injuries, wildlife and the grinding job of staying alive long enough to get somewhere useful.
Brief flashbacks hint at Belmont’s deployments without spelling much out. Dialogue is thin on the ground, and most of what Pitt says is said to the dog. Anyone hoping for a talkative two-hander should know that one of the two has four legs. Actually three, as it turns out.
Pitt and Ayer, back together after Fury
The film reunites Pitt with director David Ayer, who put him in charge of a Sherman tank in Fury back in 2014. Ayer usually makes loud, nasty films about cops and criminals, such as End of Watch and The Beekeeper, so a mostly quiet wilderness drama is a surprising turn. Cameron Alexander wrote the script, and Pitt also produces through his Plan B company.
J.K. Simmons and Anna Lambe are in the supporting cast, but this is essentially a one-man show, or a one-man-and-a-dog show. Pitt, bearded and buzzcut, is in almost every frame and alone for much of it. At 62 he can still do a lot with a squint and a grimace, which is more than most of us manage after a long day.
AD
What works, and what’s laid on with a trowel
The good stuff is the practical stuff. The film is at its best when it gets into the detail of staying alive: dressing a wound, building a shelter, deciding whether a river is worth the risk. Pitt plays Belmont as a capable man who is getting slowly worn down, and you feel every knock adding up. The bond between him and Odin is the film’s engine, and it works. Even a cynic will be leaning forward when the dog is in danger.
It’s a Bear Grylls episode with a film star and a pension-age stoicism, and that’s both its charm and its limit.
Then there are the bits you’ll forgive or you won’t. The film’s patriotism starts as background noise and gets louder by the end, and some of the emotional moments feel designed rather than earned. British viewers raised on Touching the Void, where survival is messy, unglamorous and unsentimental, may find the music swelling a bit too often. It’s also slight. Once you’ve seen the set-up, you can probably guess the shape of things, if not every turn.
What the critics say
The reviews are mostly warm, with a strong minority who aren’t having it. Variety called it a stirring survival saga, said it was not far removed from an old Disney movie and praised Pitt for giving a true performance. IndieWire’s Ryan Lattanzio was more mixed. He called it predictably pro-military, but said the filmmaking was often exhilarating and that it reminds you Pitt is still a movie star. CBR said Pitt shines but his canine co-star steals the show.
The dissenters are blunt. Roger Moore at Movie Nation found it solid and formulaic, but also, in his words, a terrible bore. Pajiba called it contrived emotional drama and said its tearjerker finish felt forced.
Where to watch Heart of the Beast in the UK
Heart of the Beast is showing in UK cinemas now and is rated 12A, so it’s fine for a trip with a teenager who might otherwise be glued to a phone. It’s a Paramount release. No UK streaming or digital rental date has been announced yet, so for now the big screen is your only option. To be fair, the Alaskan scenery is the kind of thing that justifies leaving the sofa.
Verdict
Heart of the Beast is an old-fashioned man-and-dog adventure with a proper star at the centre. It’s well made and gripping when it focuses on survival, but soppy and preachy when it reaches for big emotions. Dog lovers and fans of survival telly will have a good time and probably a damp eye. Anyone who wants grit without the sentiment should rewatch Touching the Void instead. Three stars out of five.
Ashley Isaacs picks what's worth your evening – film, TV, streaming, music and books for men 45 and over with limited evenings and too many subscriptions. Reviews of what's new on Netflix, Prime Video, BBC iPlayer and the rest, crime dramas worth a weekend, and classics worth a second look. What's worth watching, what isn't, and where to find it in the UK.
One of Midcent's writers. Spotted something? Write to ashley@midcent.uk.
Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe go Depression-era rugged in The Weight, an old-school survival thriller about convicts carrying gold through Oregon. It’s in UK cinemas now, and it’s worth the ticket.
Christopher Nolan swaps the atom bomb for Homer, with Matt Damon as a battered Odysseus. It’s huge, thrilling and a bit chilly. Here’s whether it deserves three hours of your evening.
Brad Pitt plays a retired racer called back for one last shot in F1. It’s loud, glossy and familiar, and it knows exactly what a man in his fifties dreams about.
Peacock’s Friday the 13th prequel gives Pam Voorhees her own story. Linda Cardellini is terrific, the show around her less so. Here’s whether it deserves a slot on your Sky box.
