Director Tyler Atkins’ Beast is an affecting and gritty MMA drama that, like Gavin O’Conner’s similarly themed Warrior (2011), recognizes that its characters are as important as its fight scenes.
The film quickly introduces us to MMA legend Patton James (Daniel MacPherson) and his coach Sammy (Russell Crowe). James is prepping himself for the fight ahead before the film fades out and we fast forward ten years, with Patton having fallen on hard times and working on a fishing trawler to make ends meet.
In the interim, his younger brother Malon (Mojean Aria) has made something of himself in the MMA world, with him getting ready to face off against world champion Xavier Grau (Bren Foster). After Malon is dealt a devastating defeat, Patton is offered thousands of dollars to return to the cage.
At first Patton is apprehensive, but after losing his job and wife Luciana (Kelly Gale) telling him she is pregnant, he quickly realizes the only way for him to earn money fast is to go back into the cage.
Considering Beast features Russell Crowe, a performer that easily fits into my top ten favorite actors of all time, what really drew me in was that it features martial arts supremo Bren Foster. After his excellent work on Life After Fighting (2025) and Mexicali (2026), I was eagerly anticipating what Foster would do next.
As great as Foster is, the majority of the film rests on the shoulders of a never better Daniel MacPherson. I remember this fella going way back to Australian soap opera Neighbours (1985) and UK Police drama The Bill. It makes me extremely happy to see how his career has progressed since then, with him managing to get several memorable roles under his belt. I knew MacPherson was more than capable at handling action after his role in television show Strike Back (2010), but Beast also proves to be a proper showcase for his acting ability, with MacPherson going through a gamut of emotions on his journey to reclaim past glories.
In terms of the action, MacPherson has clearly put the work in, with him being 100% convincing as a skilled MMA fighter. Considering he faces off against Bren Foster, a bonafide martial artist, and isn’t overshadowed, shows the dedication McPherson has put into his role. MacPherson underwent training in Muay Thai, boxing and Jiu Jitsu for the role, as well as gaining 10kg of muscle.
Of course, it does help that Foster is handling the fight choreography, with his fight scenes making sure to show everyone at their best. The action here is more grounded than what Foster gave us in his cracking Life After Fighting (2024), but Foster still gives us several terrific fight scenes that perfectly accompany the on screen drama.
In front of the camera, Foster plays a character far removed from the heroic roles he recently portrayed in the aforementioned Life After Fighting or Mexicali. His character Xavier Grau is very much in the Ivan Drago mold, being more a cold hearted braggart than an out and out villain. Other than knowing he was defeated years prior by MacPherson’s Patton, we don’t get much of an insight into the background. Foster does bring a great deal of personality to the role, with even shades of humanity shining through, especially during one particularly tragic fight.
This particular fight for me was the action highlight of the film. I don’t want to say too much about it as it has huge plot and character repercussions, but it certainly stands out. Partly it’s because it takes place in a dingy factory rather than inside the Octagon where the rest of the fights are set. The other reason is that it seriously highlights how dangerous Foster can be, where it could almost be argued he is the beast of the title.
Of the rest of the supporting cast, Kelly Gale as Patton’s wife Luciana doesn’t get a great deal to do, but it made a nice change to see such a supportive relationship portrayed on screen. Usually in a film such as this, the lead’s wife would be dead set against their husband returning to fighting, but here she recognizes how important this is for him.
Their marriage is the opposite of Malon and Nadine, whose superficial relationship borders on the toxic. Mojean Aria stays just on the right side of annoying as the mentally damaged Malon, with his somewhat antagonist relationship with MacPherson’s Patton being the catalyst for much of the film’s plot. Aria capably portrays the pain and the bravado of his character, even coming off surprisingly well during his fight scenes.
The fight scene that I mentioned earlier that was a highlight involves Aria rather than MacPherson, with him facing off against Foster’s Xavier in an illegal bout. I knew there probably was no chance he would be the victor, but I didn’t expect him to put in as impressive a show as he did.
Saphira Moran on the other hand doesn’t get much to do as Malon’s put on wife Nadine, other than look worried, which she does quite a lot considering the amount of trouble Malon gets involved in.
Whilst Foster could be seen as a bad guy, essentially he is just another fighter, albeit dangerously competitive. The closest the film has to a villain would be Luke Hemsworth’s slimy manager Gabriel Stone who thinks money is the answer to any situation. Hemsworth had starred in director Tyler Atkins previous film Bosch & Rockit (2022), an altogether different type of film than Beast, but no less watchable because of this.
This then brings us to the mighty Russell Crowe, who as always brings his A game. It is a relatively small, but important, supporting role. Typically Crowe gives proceedings a bit of gravitas, giving a raw performance without a hint of vanity. Crowe additionally co-wrote the screenplay alongside writer/producer David Frigerio, and while they pretty much included every sports movie cliche under the sun, they still find a way to make their story seem somewhat unique.
David Frigerio also wrote earlier actioner Land of Bad (2024) which shares many of the same cast members, with MacPherson, Hemsworth and Crowe all making appearances in the underrated action thriller.
Beast comes highly recommended. Even if you’re not an MMA fan you will be swept along by the drama and quality acting.
As always, Russell Crowe has a heavy slate ahead of him. He’s already got historical thriller The Weight (2026) due to come out in September as well as several others, including the well publicized Highlander remake.
For Bren Foster, he has his second directorial feature, Relentless (2026) due to come out as well as starring in Louis Mandylor’s upcoming Marx, where he will be starring alongside Mekhi Phifer.
Looking at Daniel MacPherson, I can’t see any news of what’s in the pipeline, but based on his quality work here I am sure it won’t be long until we see him on our screens again.
Plot: 4/5
Acting: 4.5/5
Action: 3.5/5
Overall: 4/5