The Brad Pitt-led survival thriller opened in New Zealand cinemas this weekend, taking an impressive $800,000 at the local box office and landing at number one for the weekend, ahead of competing releases including Resident Evil and the re-release of Avengers: Endgame.

Directed by David Ayer, Heart of the Beast stars Pitt as retired Special Forces Staff Sergeant James Belmont, who finds himself stranded in the Alaskan wilderness alongside Odin, his retired combat dog, following a devastating plane crash.

And if our recent review is anything to go by, audiences aren’t simply turning up for the action.

At the centre of Heart of the Beast is the deeply affecting relationship between Belmont and Odin, with the film combining survival-thriller intensity with a surprisingly tender exploration of loyalty, trauma and the unbreakable bond between a soldier and his best friend.

That emotional connection appears to be resonating strongly with Kiwi audiences, with Heart of the Beast playing across everything from major multiplexes and boutique cinemas to smaller community theatres throughout the country.

There’s also a distinctly Kiwi connection to the film. Much of its rugged wilderness setting was brought to life in New Zealand’s spectacular South Island, standing in for the Alaskan interior and providing an appropriately wild backdrop to Belmont and Odin’s fight for survival.

Check out the full review for Heart of the Beast here, and see it in cinemas NOW.

Image: Paramount Pictures

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It doesn’t get much more primal than that.

In Heart of the Beast, A-list Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt and acclaimed action filmmaker David Ayer venture deep into the Alaskan wilderness for a tale of courage, survival and companionship that becomes one of the year’s most affecting cinematic experiences.

After a harrowing plane crash, retired U.S. Special Forces Staff Sergeant James Belmont (Brad Pitt) and his combat dog, Odin, find themselves stranded deep in the Alaskan wilderness. Injured, isolated and with no rescue coming, the pair are forced into a brutal fight for survival against the elements — relying on instinct, military training and, above all else, one another.

It is a simple premise, but in Ayer’s hands, Heart of the Beast becomes something far more elemental.

Back Into the Fire

The reunion of Brad Pitt and David Ayer carries some serious cinematic pedigree.

The pair previously collaborated on Fury, Ayer’s brutal and uncompromising World War II epic, with Pitt leading a tank crew through the final days of the European conflict. Here, the battlefield has changed dramatically, but the filmmaker’s fascination with soldiers, trauma and brotherhood remains firmly intact.

This time, the war is against the wilderness.

Recently retired Special Forces Staff Sergeant James Belmont has already witnessed the darkest corners of humanity during his years of service. Now, alongside Odin, his German Shepherd combat companion, he finds himself facing an entirely different enemy — one without a face, motive or mercy.

The cold doesn’t negotiate. The terrain doesn’t surrender. Injury doesn’t wait.

And there is nobody coming to save them.

Ayer Goes Quiet

For David Ayer, Heart of the Beast allows the filmmaker to explore a more restrained and dramatic register than the bullet-driven action fare for which he is perhaps best known.

This is a quieter film.

Ayer doesn’t bury the story beneath exposition or endless dialogue. Instead, Heart of the Beast has an almost Hemingway-esque quality to it, stripping its characters back to their most fundamental instincts. Belmont is a man of few words, while Odin communicates through movement, loyalty and action.

The environment becomes another character.

New Zealand’s rugged landscapes provide the visual foundation for a wilderness that feels both beautiful and hostile, giving Ayer a spectacular canvas on which to explore the relationship between man and beast.

There is something almost mythic about it.

Two warriors, stripped of everything except their instincts, fighting their way home.

Brad Pitt’s Quiet Strength

Brad Pitt brings an enormous amount of gravitas to James Belmont.

Rather than playing Belmont as an invincible action hero, Pitt gives him the weary presence of a soldier who has already seen too much. His experience is written into every movement, every calculation and every decision.

When the wilderness begins tearing them apart, Belmont’s military training kicks in. Survival becomes the mission. Every step carries a cost. Every injury matters. Every decision could be the difference between getting home and never seeing civilisation again.

Pitt sells that physical and emotional exhaustion beautifully, giving Belmont a rugged determination that feels grounded rather than exaggerated. There is no easy victory here. Survival has to be earned.

Odin’s Tale

But Heart of the Beast doesn’t belong solely to James Belmont. This is Odin’s story too.

The film places tremendous emphasis on the relationship between Belmont and his combat companion, and it is here that Heart of the Beast finds its emotional core.

Played by Uber, Odin is far more than a conventional cinematic dog. He is Belmont’s partner, protector and closest friend — a fellow operator who has experienced the horrors of war alongside him. That bond is what gives the film its emotional punch.

The connection between Pitt and Uber is remarkably affecting, with the two forming a partnership that often says more through a look or gesture than an entire conversation could.

There are certainly plenty of warm-and-fuzzy moments for dog lovers, but Ayer goes deeper than simple sentimentality. Heart of the Beast pays tribute to the courage and sacrifice of working combat dogs while also examining the psychological scars left by warfare — and the reality that the trauma of combat isn’t exclusively experienced by humans.

The Ultimate Mission

At its heart, Heart of the Beast is a story about loyalty.

It is about a soldier who refuses to abandon his partner and a dog who refuses to abandon his master.

Together, Belmont and Odin are pushed to the absolute limits of endurance, confronting injury, exhaustion, fear and an unforgiving wilderness that seems determined to break them.

And yet, they keep moving.

There is something beautifully old-fashioned about Heart of the Beast. It is a stripped-back survival story built around courage, companionship and the refusal to give up — a film where the relationship between its two central characters becomes more powerful than any grand speech could ever be.

Final Verdict: Courage of Man and Dog

Beautifully moving and packed with emotional weight, Heart of the Beast is a stirring reminder that sometimes the strongest bond forged in battle isn’t between soldiers. Sometimes, it’s between a man and his dog.

Image: Paramount Pictures

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And with a new trailer and brand new featurette that follows the relationship that was built between Pitt and his canine companion Uber, audiences really get a sense of how this film is shaping up.

Watch the all-new trailer for Heart of the Beast below:

Here’s the official synopsis:

After a harrowing plane crash, retired U.S. Special Forces officer James Belmont (Brad Pitt) and his combat dog, Odin, find themselves stranded deep in the Alaskan wilderness. Together, they are forced into a brutal fight for survival against the elements. From acclaimed filmmaker David Ayer, Heart of the Beast is an intense adventure thriller that explores the unbreakable bond between a man and his best friend as they face their greatest battle yet.

Take a look into the relationship that was built between Pitt and Uber, who plays Odin in Heart of the Beast, and how it changed th dynamic of film:

Heart of the Beast is shaping up to be another incredible narrative for Pitt’s talents, and there’s a lot of heart and loyalty that lies at the base of this story, and seeing it up on the bog screen will make for an absolute rush when it arrives in cinemas on September 24.

Image: Paramount Pictures

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Brad Pitt is ready to face the very savageness of nature in an all-new action spectacle from director David Ayer (Fury, End of Watch, Sabotage) in Heart of the Beast, and this is an adrenaline charging watch that will leave you overrun with energy and emotion.

Take your first look at Heart of the Beast below:

Here’s the official synppsis:

After a harrowing plane crash, retired U.S. Special Forces officer James Belmont (Brad Pitt) and his combat dog, Odin, find themselves stranded deep in the Alaskan wilderness. Together, they are forced into a brutal fight for survival against the elements. From acclaimed filmmaker David Ayer, Heart of the Beast is an intense adventure thriller that explores the unbreakable bond between a man and his best friend as they face their greatest battle yet.

Bringing Academy Award-winner Brad Pitt back together with former collaborator David Ayer, whose first effort produced the lauded WWII tank epic, Fury, Heart of the Beast takes audiences directly into the sacage heart of darkness of man vs nature as dormer US Special Forces Green Beret James Belmont (Brad Pitt), and his retired combat dog Odin, a Belgian Malinois, find themselves on the edge of the unknown in Alaska, as they are forced to suirvive by any means together in order to find their way back to home, and the edge and emotion of this piece os really gong to tap hold.

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Recalling the likes of Rambo and Lone Survivor, Heart of the Beast is engaging and very moving thriller that not only is set to deliver edge of your seat action, but also focuses in on the emotional connection between veterans and the animals they serve with, along with the distressing elements of PTSD, and there’s going to be plenty of heavy dramatic pieces in thsi film from death-defying natural environments, to wild, feral animals, and the gut-wrenching journey of man and dog to find their way back home.

Shot in Southern New Zealand, Heart of the Beast is a stunningly beautiful film, and it offers a perfect canvas to explore just how far and man dog will go together in their extraordinary will to survive.

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Get ready for the ultimate tale of man and dog vs wild when Heart of the Beast arrives in cinemas later this year.

Image: Paramount Pictures

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