The Beast Review: Samuel L. Jackson Takes the Wheel, Critics Take Sides

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The Beast Review Samuel L. Jackson Takes the Wheel, Critics Take Sides

A President trapped in his own armored car, a bleeding bodyguard in the backseat, and an entire city under siege outside the windshield. That’s the whole pitch for The Beast, the new action thriller reuniting Samuel L. Jackson with director Renny Harlin, his collaborator on Deep Blue Sea and The Long Kiss Goodnight. It opens in theaters October 9, 2026, and reviews published ahead of release are genuinely split on whether this reunion actually works.

A President Driving for His Life

Jackson plays President Oscar Palladin, caught mid-attack when an unidentified militia wipes out nearly his entire Secret Service detail in a coordinated global strike. His sole surviving agent, Taft, played by Joel Kinnaman, ends up bleeding out in the backseat while Palladin takes the wheel of The Beast, the armored, weaponized presidential limousine itself.

What follows plays out almost entirely inside and around that vehicle, in real time, as Palladin drives through hostile, blockaded streets toward an extraction point. The First Lady, Rosa, voiced by Jackson’s real-life wife LaTanya Richardson Jackson, is caught in danger elsewhere in the city, adding another layer of urgency to an already frantic night.

Why the Car Became the Whole Movie

Harlin’s biggest structural choice is keeping nearly the entire film confined to The Beast’s interior, and it’s also the choice critics agree is the most interesting thing about the movie, even when they disagree on whether it pays off. The limo scenes were shot on an LED stage using footage filmed on the streets of Madrid, standing in for an American city under siege, letting Jackson and Kinnaman react to real surrounding footage instead of imagining it against a green screen.

The vehicle itself works almost like a character. Self-driving mode requires Palladin to touch the wheel every two minutes, creating constant small emergencies while he’s also trying to keep Taft alive in the backseat. It’s a clever structural device, whether or not the surrounding story earns it.

Two Very Different Reactions to Jackson’s Performance

Here’s where the reviews genuinely diverge. Some critics see The Beast as exactly the kind of showcase Jackson’s career has been building toward, a chance to let his screen presence carry a stripped-down, high-concept premise the way it always has. By that read, Palladin’s running commentary, his trademark profanity, and his banter with Taft give the film real personality, backed by a Vietnam-veteran backstory and flashes of PTSD that add unexpected weight to the chaos.

Other critics land in a very different place, arguing the film leans so heavily on Jackson’s persona that it never develops much else. By that reading, the script feels built entirely around his voice rather than a real story, recycling beats from other films, a hostage situation that echoes Speed, in-car banter reminiscent of Pulp Fiction, without finding its own identity in the process.

The Action and the Violence

Where reviews land more in agreement is on the film’s commitment to its R rating. The violence is graphic and frequent, closer to the over-the-top gore of ’80s and ’90s action films than a modern PG-13 blockbuster. Composer Tuomas Kantelinen’s synth-heavy score leans into a retro, John Carpenter-style tone that several critics have picked up on, giving the film an intentionally old-school feel even as its effects and production are thoroughly modern.

Fight sequences rely on stunt doubles standing in for Jackson, now in his late 70s, cut together with close-ups to keep the illusion intact, a technique some reviews single out as effective and others barely mention at all.

Where Critics Can’t Agree

The split comes down to tone and execution. Praise for the film centers on its relentless pacing, its throwback appeal to fans of lean, single-location action thrillers, and Jackson’s ability to hold the screen almost entirely on his own for the runtime. Criticism centers on exactly the opposite: a visual approach some reviews call disorienting and cheap-looking, a script leaning on familiar references rather than original ideas, and a tone that swings between self-serious war trauma and campy one-liners without fully committing to either.

Both camps agree on one thing: this is unmistakably a Samuel L. Jackson vehicle, literally and otherwise. Whether that’s enough carries the entire verdict.

Who Should See This One

If you’re a longtime fan of Jackson’s action-movie era, or you grew up on single-location thrillers like Speed and Phone Booth, this is worth checking out, especially in a theater where the LED-stage action sequences are meant to be seen big. Fans of Harlin’s earlier, campier work with Jackson may find this reunion doesn’t quite recapture that same chemistry, though your mileage may genuinely vary scene to scene.

If you’re after a tightly written, original action thriller rather than a star vehicle built specifically around one actor’s persona, this is a riskier bet, and it’s worth tempering expectations accordingly.

The Verdict

The Beast is a classic case of a film landing very differently depending on what you walk in wanting. As a showcase for Samuel L. Jackson doing exactly what Samuel L. Jackson does best, it delivers. As a fully realized action thriller standing on its own, reviews suggest it’s considerably shakier. Go in for the star power, and temper expectations for everything built around him.

Rating: 3/5