LOS ANGELES, Sept. 26 -- Eight years ago, David Ayer delivered his director's cut of Suicide Squad to Warner Bros. and watched the studio replace it with a version so thoroughly reedited that he has publicly refused to call it his film. Today, Ayer opens Heart of the Beast for Paramount Pictures with a 96 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes - the best reviews of his career, and the best reviews of his star's.

Brad Pitt, at 62, has appeared in films that won Best Picture. He has produced films that won Best Picture. He has never, until now, earned a 96 percent score as a starring performer. The figure beats his 95 percent on 12 Years a Slave, where he played a supporting role, and places Heart of the Beast in a tier of career-defining work t...