Heart of the Beast Review

Heart of the Beast is David Ayer's survival drama, written by Cameron Alexander. Brad Pitt plays James Belmont, a former Green Beret travelling with Odin, his retired military German Shepherd, when a heart attack in the air strands the pair in the Alaskan wilderness, dozens of miles from the nearest road; J. K. Simmons and Anna Lambe co-star, and four dogs share the part of Odin, Uber the most prominent. Paramount released it on September 25, 2026, and it has taken about $135 million worldwide on an $82 million budget.

It is the best reviewed film of Ayer's career: 85 percent positive on Rotten Tomatoes from 181 critics with a 7.0 average, 66 on Metacritic and an A minus CinemaScore. The consensus calls it a rigorously entertaining adventure told through a spartan script and memorable set pieces, and a stirring tribute to dogs. Pitt's physical, visceral performance is the main draw, though the South China Morning Post thought the dog the stronger of the two leads, restrained and soulful in a way the film's human scenes are not, and Mauro Fiore's wilderness photography gives the trek its scale. The complaints are about the writing: some critics felt the script explains what the images already show, an opening glimpse drains suspense from the journey, and Tom's Guide found it predictable and sappy, with an ending that drifts toward military propaganda.

The performances, human and canine, and the photography earn A grades, and the story is a sturdy B. The lines that spell everything out pull dialogue down to a C, and it is a B.