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Beast of War
Movie

Beast of War

2025 • Action, Biography, Drama

Woke Score
4
out of 10

Plot

A group of young soldiers, fresh out of boot camp, find themselves stranded on a raft in the middle of the ocean after their ship is sunk by the enemy and must battle for their lives against a giant hungry great white shark.

Overall Series Review

The movie is a tense World War II survival thriller that pits a small group of stranded Australian soldiers against a giant shark. The primary dramatic conflict is not just the external threat of the sea beast and the enemy, but the deep internal division within the unit. The story explicitly centers on Leo, an Indigenous soldier, who is the most capable and principled survivor, contrasting him with a white soldier, Des, who serves as the villainous figure due to his overt racism. The film utilizes the Indigenous character's superior knowledge and morality to expose the historical racism and systemic inequality (unequal pay) within the Australian military institution. The narrative focuses on the formation of a 'renewed brotherhood' where the white soldiers must accept and follow the Indigenous man, making the overcoming of racial prejudice a core component of the survival story. The film is otherwise a straightforward, raw creature-feature, leaving little room for the other categories of ideological content.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics7/10

The plot's central character is an Indigenous soldier who is the only competent, principled individual, while a white soldier is cast as the ‘racist gronk’ antagonist who mocks and insults the hero. The narrative highlights systemic oppression by noting the hero received only a third of the pay of his white colleagues. The Indigenous character’s ‘background on the sea’ is presented as the singular key to survival, making his immutable characteristics the source of the group's merit and success, while 'whiteness' is vilified through the bigoted character.

Oikophobia5/10

The film focuses on the sacrifices of Australian soldiers in WWII and the value of military mateship. However, the culture and the military institution are actively framed as corrupt and flawed due to explicit ‘old-world racism’ and systemic pay inequality shown by the white characters and the system itself. National cohesion and ‘brotherhood’ are only achieved by overcoming the home culture’s fundamental flaws, which serves as a notable critique of heritage.

Feminism2/10

The story is a male-focused military/survival drama featuring a handful of soldiers on a raft, centering on masculine themes like courage, brotherhood, and protective capability in a life-or-death situation. The lack of female leads and the focus on male dynamics keeps the score low, as there is no opportunity for 'Girl Boss' or anti-natalist tropes.

LGBTQ+1/10

The narrative is entirely focused on a WWII survival scenario involving a male military unit. There is no information in the plot or character descriptions to suggest the presence of alternative sexualities or gender ideology themes. The narrative maintains a normative structure by focusing on the standard military unit and the extreme peril of the survival situation.

Anti-Theism1/10

The movie is an action-horror creature-feature whose primary moral framework is focused on physical survival and the practical morality of overcoming internal racial prejudice. There is no evidence of hostility toward religion, nor are faith and God presented as a theme for critique or support.