‘Heart of the Beast’ First Reviews Hail Film As Best Of David Ayer’s Career

Heart of the Beast is officially the best reviewed film of David Ayers career as a director. In theatres this week.

Zanda Gubecka September 22, 2026

'Heart of the Beast' First Reviews Hail Film As Best Of David Ayer's Career

David Ayer isn’t exactly known for quality filmmaking despite his extensive and extremely famous career, having directed Suicide Squad, The Beekeeper, Bright, and Fury, but also writing the screenplays for The Fast and the Furious and Training Day.

Now, his next film is his third in three years and reunites him with Brad Pitt, twelve years after the release of 2014’s Fury. Heart of the Beast, against all odds, has debuted on review sites with overwhelmingly positive reviews, praising the onscreen relationship between Brad Pitt’s character and his dog, as well as the effective portrayal of resilience.

The film currently sits at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes from 25 critic reviews. On Metacritic, the film sits at a firm 70, signifying generally favourable sentiment, and Letterboxd lists it as a 3.3/5. Find a non-exhaustive list of reviews below:

David Ayer's "Heart of the Beast" is a "stirringly crafted survival-in-the-wild saga."

"Brad Pitt gives a true performance, and so does the canine actor playing his trusty companion," reads Variety's review.https://t.co/0dNiB3Qx00
— Variety (@Variety) September 22, 2026

"A very good movie about a very good boy."

Brad Pitt and a trusty dog are stranded in the wilderness in David Ayer’s survival drama Heart of the Beast — in UK cinemas Friday.

Read the Empire review: https://t.co/iTaVx6HZik pic.twitter.com/8p3X9Gpycw
— Empire (@empiremagazine) September 22, 2026

'Heart Of The Beast' Review: Brad Pitt And A Soulful German Shepherd Struggle To Survive The Wilderness In An Emotional Journey That Will Have You Sobbing https://t.co/BsULB8Tfak
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) September 22, 2026

‘Heart of the Beast’ Review: Brad Pitt and a Very Good Dog Brave the Elements in David Ayer’s Predictably Pro-Military Survival Thriller https://t.co/j0hPgXv197
— IndieWire (@IndieWire) September 22, 2026

Heart of the Beast (2026) – not a complete wash, but Ayer’s tale of man (and canine) vs. nature is inoffensive. It starts rocky before mellowing into a standard survival flick that seems indicative of this new Paramount era.

Full review @NextBestPicture https://t.co/SQVeUB3mSC
— Giovanni Lago @NYFF (@TheGiovanniLago) September 22, 2026

HEART OF THE BEAST
Review by @TheGiovanniLago #HeartOfTheBeast #BradPitt #JKSimmons #AnnaLambe #DavidAyer #MovieReview #Movies #Film #Cinema #FilmTwt #FilmX https://t.co/xAAIAz6lpd
— Matt Neglia @NYFF (@NextBestPicture) September 22, 2026

Heart of the Beast follows James Belmont (Brad Pitt), a former special forces operative, as he crash-lands in the Alaskan wilderness with his rescue dog Odin. With his loyal companion, James soon must figure out a way back to civilization, coming to terms with trauma. Read the full synopsis below:

After surviving a plane crash, a former special forces soldier finds himself trapped in the unforgiving Alaskan wilderness with his combat dog. Together, they battle the elements and other animals in a harsh landscape that would likely kill any other man or dog.

Heart of the Beast currently is the best reviewed film of David Ayer’s directing career, besting his best received work in Fury, the 2014 WWII drama starring Pitt, Michael Pena, Jon Bernthal, Shia LeBeouf, and Logan Lerman, and End of Watch, the grounded 2012 police drama starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Pena and David Harbour.

Heart of the Beast stars Brad Pitt, J.K. Simmons, and Anna Lambe. The film releases in theatres on September 25, 2026.

Thanks for reading this Heart of the Beast reviews article. For more, stay tuned here at Feature First.

Tagged:Anna Lambe Brad Pitt David Ayer JK Simmons Paramount Pictures

Zanda Gubecka

Zanda is the Editor-in-Chief of Feature First and oversees the publishing of the outlet and content of the social media pages. He is based in Queensland, Australia and may or may not have a life like cardboard cut-out of Ryan Gosling in his room. Zanda has been actively turning Feature First into a reliable and high quality entertainment outlet since 2023.

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