The Early Line

Early reviews on “The Beast” are largely upbeat:

“Sneak Previews’ ” Jeff Lyons noted, “The most unusual and absorbing war picture since (the West German-produced) ‘Das Boat.’ ” Jay Scott in the Toronto Globe and Mail countered with “ . . . a picture that sires ‘Platoon’ off ‘Das Boat’--it’s a movie that’s really ‘Das Tank’--and is really about Vietnam but without the guts to fess up.”

Daily Variety’s Amy Dawes raved: “A harrowing, tightly focused war film that becomes a moving, near-biblical allegory.”

Liz Braun, Toronto Sun, echoed: “A seering and horrific look at war . . . grippingly good.”

Calendar’s Michael Wilmington went for a split decision: “Ripe melodrama--and if these film makers think they’ve made an anti-war film, they’re kidding themselves. But ‘The Beast’ gets intensity from its shifting viewpoints: Director Reynolds has such a masterful sense of movement and spectacle, he sweeps you right into the action.”