Beyond the Reach (DVD) – Movie Review
Imagine yourself being a witness to a accidental murder. Okay, nothing to do about it, you might think, let’s just get some help. What would your reaction be when the culprit actually turned on you, trying to eliminate the only one who witnessed his unfortunate hiccup? Beyond the Reach shows us a twisted chasing game between a rich, arrogant business man and a rather poor but dead honest young man.
Ben (Jeremy Irvine) is a regular, not all that wealthy guy but his main positive character traits find themselves in his honesty and eternal love for his girlfriend. He works as a guide for professional hunters who try to find some new prize beasts to hang up the wall. One day, Ben gets paired up with the sly corporation leader Madec (Michael Douglas) who’s in need of a few more prize beasts to decorate his walls with. Reluctantly, Ben accepts the assignment and the two start their search for shooting targets. It doesn’t take too long before it becomes quite clear that Madec doesn’t have an official hunting license. Ben warns the man he’s not capable of doing a hunt like this one and urges him to come back when he earns that license. Madec isn’t about to let his favorite kind of pass time (mostly doing things he really shouldn’t be doing) get disturbed by a witty brat so when he waves a handful of cash in Ben’s face, of course, the latter sees no other option than to accept the bribe. Well, that’s basically what kind of a man Madec is. If something or someone stands in his way, he knows how to solve the issue in a matter of seconds.
Another example of Madec’s quick problem-solving character can be witnessed some time later in the movie. Hours upon hours, the duo looks for any sign of live game but unfortunately, all animals seem to have hidden somewhere safe. Madec soon starts to doubt Ben’s competence as a hunting party guide but finally though, after looking for so long, a shape moves on top of a mountain! That must be some special kind of beast concluding from the large contours so blam, Madec immediately shoots the dangerous creature down with his incredibly expensive sniper rifle. Proud as a peacock, he rushes towards the body and then… reality hits him like a thunderbolt. Madec didn’t kill a magnificent prize beast, worthy of his walls, but rather shot down local town nut Charlie (Martin Palmer). While he’s busy cursing the course of events, Ben wants to find help immediately so the body can be brought back to town and a decent burial service can be arranged. Madec has other plans for Ben though and forces him to strip naked and start walking. Surely, the sun and the lack of any water will make an end to the young boy’s life and most importantly, no traces will lead back to him.
So, this is basically the story in a nutshell. The idea is quite interesting and as a viewer, it’s hard to stop watching the movie once the ball starts rolling. Although the story is actually pretty entertaining for such a rather shallow plot, it’s filled with bizarre choices. For one, why doesn’t Madec just shoot Ben and hide the bodies and flee with his private jet (like he does later in the movie at one point)? Why take the risk of letting Ben walk around freely, when other hunters could surely spot a naked guy stumbling around? The entire movie is filled with such nonsense and that really brings down the realistic feeling the movie created in the first few minutes. Beyond the Reach could’ve been so much better if more logical situations where thought out instead of filling the movie with stuff that would never happen in real life.
The most of the acting performances comes down to two main persons, Douglass and Irvine. Douglass is of course very experienced in the acting department so there’s really not much to complain about his performance. Irvine too, knows how to keep his acting steady on a decent level of quality and looking back at the movie in its entirety, it’s really a shame that the plot wasn’t thought out better because Beyond the Reach certainly has the tools to become something more than an average movie, which it is now just because of the incredibly annoying story choices.
The DVD version of the movie doesn’t come with any extras so it’s over and done for after seeing the end credits roll.
Conclusion
Beyond the Reach shows a lot of promise but a lot of bizarre, odd and just unbelievable situations make this movie nothing more than an average thriller while it could’ve been a lot more. There’s not much to say about the acting except both actors know how to do their jobs and how to work in a small team. The base line here is that Beyond the Reach had a lot more potential but lazy story writing prevents the movie from becoming more than it is. Still, if you like the basic setup, you might enjoy this title anyways.
Beyond the Reach (DVD) - Movie Review,
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