Russell Crowe’s MMA Thriller Beast Roars With a Knockout Rotten Tomatoes Score

If you feel like every other sports movie these days is either recycled superheroes or high school underdogs, here's something with a different set of bruises. Russell Crowe, yes, the sword-wielding guy from Gladiator (and apparently now well into his sixties), has jumped into the world of MMA movies—though don't expect him to trade punches himself. The film is called 'Beast,' it's freshly out in theaters, and the early buzz is not the faint praise you usually get for genre flicks like this.

So What Is 'Beast' Actually About?

Crowe doesn't play the battered gladiator this time—he's more of the gruff mentor/coach figure, think a slightly more out-of-shape Mickey from Rocky but with an Aussie accent and a furrowed brow you could land planes on. The real center of the movie is Daniel MacPherson (you might know him from Foundation or Land of Bad), who plays a former MMA champ dragged back into the fight game after his little brother finds himself in the crosshairs of some not-so-nice people. Cue the training montages, reunion with the old trainer, and a make-or-break final bout.

Who's Behind and In Front of the Camera?

• Directed by Tyler Atkins
• Written by a tag-team duo: Russell Crowe and David Frigerio
• Stars Daniel MacPherson as the ex-champ on a comeback
• Russell Crowe as the no-nonsense trainer
• Luke Hemsworth (yes, another Hemsworth brother, and the one from The Terminal List: Dark Wolf)
• Mojean Aria
• Kelly Gale
• George Burgess
• Saphira Moran
• Bren Foster (of Life After Fighting and Mexicali)—who, if you like your action stars actually looking like they can fight, is definitely one to watch

Does It Actually Deliver?

If you, like me, have suffered through more than your fair share of 'promising' MMA films (honestly, there are surprisingly few good or even decent ones), here's the shocker: 'Beast' is apparently pretty great. Reviewers are falling over themselves to call it a 'crowd-pleaser', throw out comparisons like 'Rocky meets MMA', and praise the fight scenes for being the kind of bone-crunching, sweat-flying madness that's hard to watch, mostly because it just looks that real.

What Are Critics Saying?

If you're still on the fence, here's the scorecard:

Rotten Tomatoes: 80% (which, let's be real, would be impressive for any non-Marvel, non-horror movie right now)
Audience Popcornmeter: 78%, with people raving it's a 'must see', 'edge of your seat nail biter!', and one enthusiastic watcher calling it an 'incredible movie absolutely must watch!'.

RogerEbert.com dropped a strong 3 out of 4 stars, basically saying if you love cheering for the battered underdog (and like watching actors convincingly tie themselves into MMA knots) you're going to have a good time. Daniel MacPherson doesn't phone it in either; TVBrittanyF.com even describes him as a 'human freight train', doing exactly what sports movie fans want: getting battered for two hours and sprinting full speed into a big, emotional finish.

'This is the kind of movie that will play forever on basic cable, and you’ll sit down and wonder why there isn’t more like it.'

CineMovie.tv also pointed out that the fight choreography is so raw that at times it's tough to watch—apparently, the hits land with enough impact to do your living room a little emotional damage. NYC Movie Guru called it 'A triumph! A heartfelt, gripping and exhilarating emotional journey.' Not subtle, but hey, sounds like it gets the job done.

The Bottom Line

If you have even a passing affection for classic sports dramas or just want something that'll keep you awake and wincing for two hours, 'Beast' makes a surprisingly convincing case. It's out in theaters now, and with reviews like these, it might just be one of those genre hits that doesn't leave you regretting your popcorn.