After a harrowing plane crash, Special Forces veteran James Belmont and his combat dog, Odin, find themselves stranded deep in the Alaskan wilderness. Together, they are forced into a brutal fight for survival against the elements. (from IMDb)

The one-man focus survival film seems to be its own genre. When I heard that Brad Pitt's new film, Heart of the Beast involved his character being the survivor of a plane crash, I was curious as to the cause of the incident. I was surprised then, to learn that it is literally just Pitt and his canine companion for nearly the entire runtime. Except for war flashbacks that Pitt's Special Forces veteran James Belmont suffers at times, and the appearance of one other character early on, this is really Pitt's show.

However, Pitt shares the screen with his Special Forces canine partner, Odin (played by 4 different dogs for the film), who he affectionately usually calls "Odie." There are a lot of "dog movies," but this one does a solid job of making it about both characters. It isn't just James' story, and it isn't just Odin's story. And the fight for survival is a huge chunk of this story. Even the peaceful segments early on have you bracing because, if you know anything about the movie ahead of time, you're anticipating for the junk to hit the fan. And when it does... it really does.

I don't want to dive too much into the story to spoil things, but the heart of the film is the relationship between James and Odin. Unlike 2020's The Call of the Wild, starring Harrison Ford, Odin here is almost always performed by a real dog. And it shows. You feel it in his eyes and mannerisms. This is also made more obvious when you see that pretty much every other animal in this movie is presented in CG. It may not be obvious to every viewer, but my brain kept flagging each animal as "not real" throughout the course of the film... which is kind of disappointing. I definitely understand the logistics here, but it does hinder the film's realism a tad. I remember, in the 90's, there was a grizzly bear that would often show up in various films, and it was to the point where you could be sitting in the audience and point at the screen and declare "That's Bart The Bear!" It was cool knowing actors were interacting with a real bear. It's a little unfortunate to be watching this film - which relies so heavily on real natural landscapes - and be able to tell that the animal on screen isn't really there.

From the start, Heart of the Beast has a sweeping, almost epic feel to it - yet, it still manages to feel intimate as it zooms in on our little duo. Soft, ambient music with a touch of Alaskan flair blankets the gorgeous scenic visuals. Again, most of the film leans into real location scenery. But you can definitely put a finger on the moments the scene migrates to a studio. After all, it makes more sense to have superstar Brad Pitt in the safety of a studio rather than really walking across a fallen log dangling high about a raging river. But it still works for the film. The pacing of the story may make some viewers squirm, though. Director David Ayer allows the story to really breathe with the pacing, but it can feel a hair sluggish at times. Still, it works for keeping it a more "chill" experience - at least, until the tension ratchets up. There are plenty of perilous scenes that add to the tension, and they're liable to wake up anyone who started feeling lulled by the calm tone of some scenes. Still, Ayer even mixes in faux-tension, like James and Odin meeting J.K. Simmons' wandering character, Watkins, who ultimately doesn't pose any threat, but causes the veteran instincts of James and Odin to immediately switch into defense mode.

The content for the film is almost entirely related to themes and injury imagery. There is a little bit of profanity - most of which occurs while Simmons and Pitt are chatting, that include what sounded like only 1 "S" word and about 5 total uses of "g*dd*mn," and 2 of "S.O.B." and "*ssh*le," but not much else beyond that. The worst of the injury image is a compound fracture in James' forearm. It's pretty rough; we see the bone sticking out of the skin in several shots and then he struggles to get it back in and eventually has Odin pull on his arm to set it. After he wraps it up, we don't see the wound again. There's also a really graphic wound seen on his abdomen that we get about two glimpses of. It's pretty gross. While the injury visuals are brief, I'd say it does push the film to the edge of the PG-13 rating. If you're at all squeamish, you'll want to keep those two moments in mind especially. Other than that, there are other shots of blood in the water, James hitting his head, war flashbacks (that aren't graphic but include gunfire, explosions, a man on fire, and some injured people being carried away), and the trickling of blood on rocks. We also see some animals get stabbed and attacking other animals (with some blood).

Heart of the Beast absolutely isn't a film for everyone. It's not very upbeat, as most of the story is spent with James and Odin struggling to survive the Alaskan wilderness while also struggling with injuries, setbacks, and wild animal threats. The acting is solid - Pitt is excellent, and the dogs playing Odin are loveable - and it really carries this film through. The movie probably doesn't end the way you'd expect it to, and it kind of dampened my enjoyment of the movie, but it's no less a solid film, and one I'd recommend to fans of Pitt and survival stories especially.

- John DiBiase (reviewed: 9/27/26)