Brad Pitt as James Belmont and his dog, Odin, in “Heart of the Beast.”Credit...

Scott Garfield/Paramount Pictures

‘Heart of the Beast’ Review: Brad Pitt Goes Into the Wild

Starring as a veteran venturing into Alaska with his trusty dog by his side, Pitt manages to elevate this dude-canine tale.

By Nicolas Rapold

Sept. 24, 2026

There’s getting away from it all, and there’s what Brad Pitt’s rugged character is doing at the start of “Heart of the Beast.” With his German shepherd by his side, James (Pitt) pilots a Cessna aircraft deep into the Alaskan wilderness, plops down near a gorgeous, deserted lake, and cracks open a cooler of beer. It’s a small patch of heaven for man and dog, as they both chill in the sunshine and catch fish.

This wouldn’t be much of a nature thriller without something going wrong. But the heart of “Heart of the Beast,” directed by David Ayer, will remain in this warm bond between James and Odin, which is what this dappled-face, very good dog is named. They’ve been inseparable ever since James, an Army Special Forces soldier, took on Odin as a combat scout dog, and the traumas of that combat are still visible on Odin’s body (most notably in a discreetly sheathed, shortened leg).

It is of course easy to get cynical about dude-with-a-dog personal journeys (see “Arthur the King,” “Dog,” or the woman-with-a-dog military drama starring Kate Mara, “Megan Leavey”). But as with all truly great stars, Pitt makes you feel, as if by his side, what his character is going through, physically and mentally, rather than question the premise. And James and Odin go through a lot: marooned after an accident, trekking across harsh terrain, wondering whether bears or wolves will hunt them down first. It’s mostly a drama of overcoming obstacles, which James approaches methodically.

Pitt brings a quiet confidence to James and avoids the kind of amped-up tension which might render the film just another escapist survival adventure. He does show the veteran’s fears early on, with just a look in his eyes when he’s haunted by a series of flashbacks to war in Iraq and Afghanistan (muzzy, sandy-beige sequences, which the movie probably could have done without repeating). But Pitt tends to direct our attention to his relationship with Odin rather than just ennoble James as a wounded warrior.

THE NEW YORK TIMES