Director David Ayer has built a career on high-octane, gritty explorations of brotherhood, combat, and survival in films like Fury, End of Watch, and The Beekeeper. With Heart of the Beast, Ayer follows the same themes: a harrowing fight against nature, where the ultimate bond is between a man and his combat dog.

Special Forces officer James Belmont (Brad Pitt) and his canine partner, Odin (Uber), are living the quiet life when a plane crash leaves them stranded in the unforgiving Alaskan wilderness. Armed with a surprising amount of survival kit, the pair launch into a gruelling fight for their lives as they race against time towards safety.

This is not an easy watch. On a narrative level, it is a relentless and punishing ordeal, as put down by writer Cameron Alexander. There is little holding back in the gore as James gets himself into deadly stunt after stunt, with only a bottle of aspirin and sheer willpower to abide. Pitt delivers a characteristically stoic performance, letting the agony of exhaustion and trauma register across his face and his body. Opposite him, Uber the dog is just as much the main character as Pitt. They are as instrumental to each other as the camera is to the cinematographer, relying on the other to carry the emotional core of this story.

The film hits its biggest stumbling block, however, in its execution. A vast portion of the budget clearly went toward heavy CGI effects. Naturally, the production couldn’t place a real dog or Pitt in genuinely life-threatening situations. Still, the digital work is noticeably flawed and often takes you out of the moment.

Fortunately, the gorgeous cinematography does much of the heavy lifting to restore the film’s immersion. Capturing stunning, sweeping shots of the Alaskan landscape (filmed in New Zealand), it showcases both the awe-inspiring beauty and the terrifying isolation of the location.

Now, cinemagoers haven’t exactly been deprived of “the dog film” in recent years. Only last month did we see Ridley Scott‘s The Dog Stars hit cinemas and then bomb at the box office, as reported days later. Channing Tatum even went on his own journey with a four-legged friend in 2022 with the film Dog, which received generally positive reviews and did well on returns in its opening weekend. Plus, last year Zooey Deschanel and Charlie Cox starred in a different kind of dog film, Merv, which went the rom-com route on Prime and met middling to poor reviews. That is to say, the canine-led film is currently well-established, frequent, and varied in Hollywood, but this subgenre isn’t a guaranteed hit or miss.

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The strongest thing Heart of the Beast has going for it is, unsurprisingly, the emotional anchor at its centre. There is a deep bond between James and Odin and it’s a connection that feels authentic and earned. Odin is a fellow veteran bearing the hidden scars of war. The film touches on a heartbreaking reality by showing Odin suffering from PTSD flashbacks that violently disturb his sleep, mirroring James’s own struggles.

The action drama also offers some interesting stylistic choices, shifting the perspective away from human eyes. While much of the journey is seen through James’s perspective, the narrative occasionally gives us a look through Odin’s eyes. One particularly memorable scene features Odin quietly watching wild animals interact and tear into each other. Observing the animal kingdom at its finest and most brutal, Odin seems to be realising the wild side of his own species for the very first time. Having seen humans wage war against each other, he now observes nature doing the same, perhaps drawing a parallel between the two worlds.

Yet beneath the distress, Heart of the Beast remains completely simple. It’s a story stripped down to the bare essentials of survival, loyalty and living with the lasting effects of trauma. As James quietly reflects, “I showed [Odin] war, but he has shown me nothing but love”.

Before the credits roll, the film grounds itself in reality with a closing statistic: thousands of dogs have been sent into war in the last 20 years, with many finding a second life with loving families. It’s a poignant reminder of their service and loyalty that the film seeks to highlight. While the visual effects don’t always sustain the illusion, the film’s beating heart makes the journey worth taking.