X
- 2015
- R
- Roadside Attractions
- 1 h 31 m
- 2015
- R
- Roadside Attractions
- 1 h 31 m
Summary A high-rolling corporate shark (Michael Douglas) and his impoverished young guide (Jeremy Irvine) play the most dangerous game during a hunting trip in the Mojave desert.
Directed By: Jean-Baptiste Léonetti
Written By: Stephen Susco, Robb White
- 2015
- R
- Roadside Attractions
- 1 h 31 m
- 2015
- R
- Roadside Attractions
- 1 h 31 m
Beyond the Reach
34
4.8
Where to Watch
Summary A high-rolling corporate shark (Michael Douglas) and his impoverished young guide (Jeremy Irvine) play the most dangerous game during a hunting trip in the Mojave desert.
Directed By: Jean-Baptiste Léonetti
Written By: Stephen Susco, Robb White
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Unfavorable
Based on 19 Critic Reviews
34
5% Positive
1 Review
1 Review
53% Mixed
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
42% Negative
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Unfavorable
Based on 19 Critic Reviews
34
5% Positive
1 Review
1 Review
53% Mixed
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
42% Negative
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
Watching Douglas behave like a narcissistic scumbag is an absolute pleasure, one in which viewers of action-adventure Beyond the Reach can happily indulge.
The flat-out awful ending, though, deflates much of the goodwill built up by the rest of the film.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 27 User Ratings
4.8
22% Positive
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
52% Mixed
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
26% Negative
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 27 User Ratings
4.8
22% Positive
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
52% Mixed
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
26% Negative
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
I watched this movie as the "affluenza" mom and son are in jail. Do rich people feel they can get away with anything? Yes. It's scary to think this is life in America now days. Art imitates life, how often have we heard that one? Michael Douglas portrays the slightly crazy rich guy well, "Wall Street", "The Game", to mention a few. What would you do in that situation? Movies like this put you there and make you think about how you would survive. Or not. The story line was believable until the end. Why do the studios always want a Hollywood ending?
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Though it differs from the novel in some parts, Beyond the Reach is still entertaining and thrilling in many ways. Take for instance how the film almost instantly jumps right in and doesn't dish out a half hour dose of trite melodrama. Another note, how Michael Douglas surprisingly captures the role of madman Madec flawlessly. Not to mention the insane atmosphere our protagonist Ben has to run around in. It has amateur filmaking elements in it such as freeze frames and pan-zooming, but they are easily bypassed by the visceral feelings the film itself gives. Though flawed, Beyond the Reach is still a satisfying thriller that busts out almost everything one would expect by its description.
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The folks re-adapting White’s book for Beyond the Reach tamper and tinker with perfection — a little overly convenient cheating here, a contrived finale that goes wrong and then goes more wrong. The film staggers under these blows and never really recovers.
Beyond the Reach is a misfire, one of those movies that never quite rises to the level of guilty pleasure.
There are goofy, primal pleasures to be had in the first two-thirds of the film. But Beyond the Reach exceeds even its humble grasp in the final act, collapsing in a clatter of blockheaded manhunter-movie cliches. Crazy is one thing, but dumb is unforgivable.
If all a movie needed was a boy with abs and a gun (or slingshot), then Beyond the Reach would be a masterpiece.
The ludicrous action thriller Beyond the Reach fails to achieve the Southwestern noir potency of “No Country for Old Men,” but there’s no denying it brings to mind another Southwestern classic about malicious pursuit: the Road Runner cartoons.
When logic and prediction isn't an issue, you'll get a decent thriller.
When the big production houses along with the great filmmakers and young stars turning towards the comic books and dystopian themes, what do you think the yesteryear legends are doing.
It is very sad to see the 70s, 80s and the 90s icons are discarded like a trash, but they're trying their best to keep the star status by doing small scale films from the lower rated and debuting filmmakers. That's the best shot they've got which obviously won't do well at the big screens. So that's where this film too comes in.
As usual Michael Douglas was good, but the story had many possible ways to travel and that's where the viewers raise their voice by saying it should have been like this, like that or why would he do that.
Overall, its a decent entertainment that is kind of closest theme to 'No Country for Old Men'. The entire film revolves around just two men and sets in the desert. So a minimal cast film.
Based on the book 'Deathwatch'. A simple story, but quite interesting film characters. Filled with fairly predictable stuffs yet the performances and very suitable locations are what draws us in.
It's a right kind of project for Michael Douglas for his age, but the 'War Horse' actor was also good in his role. An average film, or maybe just above that. If you skip it, you would miss nothing, but if you give it a try, I think that's not a bad idea too.
6/10
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I liked how it was all set up, we get to know Ben (Jeremy Irvine) at first but what we actually get to know about him is what he has to live for. As for Madec (Michael Douglas) we quickly what he has to lose and the same time we get a glimpse of what kind of man he is before the hunting trip takes a turns for the worst.
Beyond The Reach wasn't what I expected, I saw Madec as a hell of a lot more twisted then he actually is in the film. He is the villain of the story but his motives are understandable. I'm not condoning what he did, it just kinda makes sense. The circumstances put them into this situation, when I was hoping that Madec would have instigated it.
The make up job on Jeremy Irvine is flawless, it looked really good, too bad that the story wasn't as carefully crafted as the sunburn make up Irvine had. The ending was a bit of a disappointment and the movie could have had a little more tension but I enjoyed it none the less.@wornoutspines
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Man vs Man vs Wild. There's an allure of two men engaging in high stake wit battle. Beyond the Reach has simple premise to produce interesting suspense. The desert setting gives a specific barren and demanding background for survival of the fittest. Unfortunately, the movie loses momentum in midway point as the plot holes are mounting against them. These illogical scenes hamper any suspense the movie has built up from the first half, and unless audiences have generous suspension of disbelief, the last act is completely underwhelming.
Story follows two men as they both hunt in the desert. Ben (Jeremy Irvine) is a guide for Madec (Michael Douglas), right from the start they don't mesh together that well. When an accident happens, their interests clash and things escalate out of control. For the role of powerful ambitious man, Michael Douglas can't be a bad cast as he has repeatedly performed well as such character in many other movies. However, the script gives his character several bad decisions which are contradicting his action merely five minutes ago.
Jeremy Irvine is a good actor, he performed admirably in War Horse and also Woman in Black 2. He's a decent cast, and at first half it's easy to relate to his ordinary character as Ben. Problems arise after the two men trade trickery for their own interests. While the battle of old versus young and the gap of technology might produces a few thrilling moments, the rest of the plot suffers from irrational choices. The plot holes culminate in a bizarre last act, which nullifies any buzz it may have produced.
Visual is presentable, the desert carries the sense of desolation and helplessness adequately. The two main characters don't have the best on-screen spark, though their exchanges of verbal and genuine blows are pretty convincing. Their relationships outside their ordeal in the desert aren't well established and as the movie tries to wrap up, these mismatches and irregular plot twists make the ending hard to take it seriously.
Beyond the Reach is at its peak as men fighting each other and the element, unfortunately it doesn't translate well beyond that and it definitely doesn't end on high note.
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This is an example of the type of thriller I always go for starring one of my all time favorite actors. "Breakdown" was a big favorite, as was "Duel" and many of Douglas's thrillers.
This one is predictable though and a case where there doesn't seem to be a thing in it that wasn't in the damn trailer! Just watch the free trailer and thank the studio for putting the movie out in the free 2 minute short form, saving people the time not to mention the admission fee.
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