Beast review – down-and-out MMA fighter film is predictable but still lands punches

Directed by Tyler Atkins and co-written by Russell Crowe, this Australian feature follows a familiar playbook – but you’ll find yourself surprisingly invested Ah, yes: the promising fighter who could’ve been a contender, could’ve been a champion. But then life intervened: bad decisions were made, promises broken, the wrong paths taken. But what if the past came knocking on his door? What if our long-in-the-tooth hero could have another crack, set things right, get in the ring one more time? To say that Tyler Atkins’ Australian martial arts drama Beast plucks moves from a well-worn playbook is putting it lightly. This is one of those genre films in which nothing surprises in broad terms; it’s the small pivots and deviations that matter. Given the ring of familiarity surrounding everything, I was surprised to find myself as invested in the film as I was, particularly because so many chest-thumping sports movies are already out there, many of which I find about as intellectually engaging ...

Poor Things, Anyone But You, Wish: the biggest films coming to Australia on Boxing Day

Misbehaving mallards, chiselled leading men and Disney in decline … here’s our guide to what’s about to hit a screen near you

In all my years as a loyal Boxing Day cinema-goer, this particular crop of films might be the strangest. Several films here feel beamed in from an alternate universe; others are decidedly creations of our own ghastly world. There are mawkish dramas, aeriform travelogues, and at least two entries which live and die on the power of their stars’ abs. In other words: fitting diversions. Enjoy!

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