THE BEAST

Set during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s, this offbeat war movie, just out on DVD, is a bit of a muddle. Its distractingly American cast plays a Russian tank crew lost in the desert, and though they're clearly the bad guys, the movie is far more concerned with their survival struggle than with the underdog Afghans' brave attempts to slay this ''beast.'' Still, the cat-and-mouse hunt is suspenseful, and the desert vistas are starkly awesome. Waterworld director Kevin Reynolds may have meant this as a profound meditation on war, but it works better as a sober-minded action movie. B-

You Might Also Like

• Review Kristin; The Beast | Ken Tucker
• TV Review The Beast | Ken Tucker
• Movie News Frank Langella in final talks for ''Good Things''
• News Roundup Ridley Scott to direct Crowe again | Dawnie Walton