Beast (2026)

Tonight I watched Beast, an Australian MMA film starring Daniel MacPherson, Bren Foster, and Russell Crowe, with Luke Hemsworth in a small role. I'm just gonna say it, and I know it won't be everybody's cup of tea, but I loved this flick.

The film does nothing original. It recycles half a dozen combat sport movies and can best be described as a B movie Rocky if it was a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie. Maybe that's not fair, the acting, directing, and even cinematography definitely eclipses anything Van Damme did, but it has that spirit and I'm all about it.

I wouldn't want to ruin the plot, but the gist is, a former fighter is forced back into the ring for one final match after falling on hard times. It's a lot more complicated than that, but any additional info would ruin the ride.

If you like solid fighting flicks, you'll love this. I also have to say, this might have my favorite in-ring combat scenes ever. It's gorgeous, tells an amazing story, and it feels real.

This movie was a lot of fun to watch and has the inspirational tone that made me want to get my fat ass out of my chair and do something. Hell, I think tomorrow I'm gonna go down to the garage and hit the punching bag for a bit. Maybe I'll even pick up those dusty dumbbells. Who knows.

(Note: I also couldn't help but notice that the bad guy was an American. It's like a reverse Rocky 4... then again, I guess these days we are the bad guys.)