Steinesongo Too many fans seem to be blown away

Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

robertmaybeth Almost no one saw this astounding movie when it came into the theaters, since it was in release so briefly it seemed like an after-thought. Even so it remains one of the best war movies made, and passing it up would be an error especially if you are a die-hard war movie fanatic.Kevin Reynolds ("water World") directs this movie expertly, with never a camera shot or bit of dialogue wasted in telling its compelling and relentless story. Once you get past the liberal use of artistic license (Russian crew members speak perfect English, with North American accents) the movie pulls you in and never lets go. The use of authentic Russian T-55 tanks (on loan from Israel, where the movie was filmed) and even a genuine Russian helicopter only heightens the story elements but never detracts from it (nobody ever says something like "See, look at all this fine Russian equipment, Dmitri! isn't this unusual?!") And what a story it is too. The movie opens with a superb action sequence: Peaceful Afghan village, suddenly we hear the "whoosh" of a shell hitting a structure and blowing it to pieces. In the next shot we are shown the source, 3 Russian tanks are attacking the village. The tank crews then proceed to devastate the place, with tank guns, machine guns, flame throwers, grenades and even poison gas. Nothing is too small to escape destruction, as the Soviets blow up the village minaret, machine-gun the live stock and even poison the well. The tank of the title (The beast") is even used as an instrument of execution for an enemy fighter.Their decimation done, the tanks then move off; two tanks go down the proper trail but "our" tank, at the orders of their mad-man of a tank commander, goes down the wrong trail. During the attack on the village, the lost tank had its radio shot out and can't communicate with their fellow Soviets and is now lost too. It is now isolated and alone, the perfect target for the Afghan mudjis sitting on a hill watching all this. They see the tank going off on its own, realize it is lost and vulnerable. So they gather their fellows, arm up with an RPG and other small arms, and follow the tank tracks in order to catch up to it and destroy it. What follows is a very tight, very taut action sequences with never a false move, plenty of interesting plot twists, and other elements that are best left unspoiled.I wish to repeat, no war movie fan should miss "The Beast" (often found retitled as "The beast of war"). In these days of CGI it's hard to believe a better war movie will come along anytime soon, if ever.

birck I knew nothing about this film when I decided to watch it-I was interested in tank warfare, and movies about that are thin on the ground. The first pleasant surprise was that (in the print that I saw) the Afghans' dialogue is subtitled (rare in a pre- 2000 Hollywood film), and that the Russian characters speak plain American English. No clunky Russian accents, just dialogue between characters who all speak the same language. At first the "plot", such as it is, seemed pretty predictable. That may be true, but the way the film presents the plot is not predictable. All the praise the film gets in these reviews is merited-the acting is good, the story is believable, and what drives the story comes as a surprise. It may be a low-budget film, but if I had known about it when it came out, it would have put my butt in a theater seat somewhere, and I would have loved every minute.

ChillEastweed A Soviet tank unit destroys an Afghan village and the crew of five of the sole surviving tank attempt to rendezvous with the rest of their division, but get lost along the way, trapped in a desolate desert valley while Mujahadeen guerrillas keep hunting them. Stress and tension keeps rising between the tank crew.Very little-known anti-war movie. Well acted, nice cinematography. Nothing too cliché, nothing too over the top action, very entertaining and still holds up well today. The title may fool you that it is some 80's b-movie but it's definitely not.Better tank movie than Fury (2014).

kitmccaughey I have watched this film several times over the years but as world events have evolved, it seems to have had fewer and fewer airings.Maybe that's because there is no further way to 'polish a turd'.My apologies to all of those involved but this is a reprehensible piece of US film-making. When this film was produced, the Berlin Wall had just come down but the Soviet Union still existed and still posed a severe threat to the US. However, no-one should delude themselves - this is simply a white hat/black hat/good guy/bad guy re-hash of what Hollywood has been doing for decades. Only in this film, the Soviets are the bad guys and the 'Mujihadeen' are the good guys. Then, having ousted the Soviet regime, the Mujihadeen (see the word 'jihad' in there) seized control of Afghanistan and transformed into... the 'Taliban'.