This has some really stunning shots of Israel. The old Russian tank running around the desert is rather impressive, but the plot is rather creaky as a dramatic tool; its execution here is offensively trite pacifist tripe, with the characters being so over-the-top as to be caricatures of themselves. Hats off to the professionalism of the actors for speaking their lines with such apparent sincerity. I cannot think of any one role that stuck me as realistic. Sad to note the service affiliation of the military advisor and one can only hope that, were we to take him out for a beer, he'd spend the entire time complaining about how the director refused to take his advice. It seems like every time any of the characters spoke, I'd be thinking "That would never have been said!!". To make up for the insulting portrayal of Russian tankers, I would suggest turning the sound off and playing the entire movie while listening to music by Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Borodin and Rimsky-Korsakov. Then all you would be upset by are the stupid weapons effects and ridiculous costuming. BTW: That type of tank gets about one mile per gallon of fuel, another issue that kept making the whole thing just look "stupid."

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.

an underrated gem.deserves at least an 8 on IMDb.greatest achievement of the film is to allow us to empathize with the afghans as well as the Russian soldiers ,although we know that Russia has the negative image here.also we get to understand the pathetic condition of the Afghanistan.apart from these achievements as a movie also the film entertains and thrills you to the core with its awesome climax.definitely in my top 10 war movies of all time along with Tae gukji, My way,spr, Platoon, Full metal jacket, Deer hunter, Cross of iron, Letters from iwo jima and The thin red line .definitely a 10 out of 10 for me.

this is one of the best combat films i have ever seen. and it feels, looks and smells real.it has everything: the conflict between the idealistic draftee and the hardened professional; the difference in commitment between invaded and invader; and self sacrifice; the ultimate warrior virtue.it shows you can't always pick a conflict's winner solely by judging which side has the greatest amount of firepower, asks whether one should gauge a society's sophistication by the modern standard of technological achievement, or by its moral sophistication? and proves that terrain may often be the greatest adversary an invading army has to conquer.and you get to feel just how impregnable a tank feels to foot-bound infantry--you feel its awesome firepower and how dangerous it is in the attack, and the potential sacrifice inherent in an infantry assault on on this impregnable beast.and at the bottom of all these realities lurks the ultimate occupier's question, "how come we're the Nazis this time?".and then there is George Dzundza. how come he didn't get more hard roles like this one? he was always the jolly fat guy who bought the next round. what a waste. but maybe his weight is what kept him sidelined. too bad. i bet he jumped through a giraffes tonsils to play this role, no matter how hard the shoot must have been, or how much weight they wanted him to lose.