Director Ridley Scott’s newest film, “The Dog Stars,” premiered in theaters on August 28 and has received mixed reviews since. Based on the 2012 novel of the same name written by Peter Heller, the post-apocalyptic action film was distributed by 20th Century Studios and starred Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley and Guy Pearce.
The film takes place in the future after a global flu pandemic wiped out most of civilization, and focuses on the character of Hig, played by Elordi (“Euphoria,” “Saltburn,” “The Kissing Booth”). Hig is surviving in the wake of the devastation with his dog, Jasper (spoiler of the dog’s fate at the end of the article for anyone who wishes to know before deciding whether or not to watch the movie). Hig also teams up with Bangley, played by Brolin (“No Country for Old Men,” “Avengers: Infinity War/Endgame”), who has a different – more violent – approach to staying alive.
In Hig’s quest to find something new – and escape the grief of losing a loved one during the pandemic – he comes across Cima, played by Qualley (“The Substance,” “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”), and her father Pops, played by Pearce (“Memento,” “Iron Man 3”).
The film is pretty slow in the beginning, taking time before events begin to ramp up. One might think this would be due to a lot of exposition or backstory being given, but very little context to the pandemic and the characters’ backstories is actually given. This leads to some unanswered questions by the end, but overall I think that’s better than being inundated with an info-dump exposition.
Once the film does get going, however, it becomes a wild ride. The movie takes care not to oversaturate itself with unnecessary action scenes simply for the sake of action; the action that is present is unique and intense, demanding the audience’s attention. (The creative use of night vision and the propellers of an old plane stuck out especially.)
In terms of acting, Brolin’s performance stood out as the best in the film as he delivers on portraying a hard-edged, stuck-in-his-ways character who wants to survive at all costs – yet also has a softer, compassionate side that cares for other people and makes the audience root for him.
The film did drag on a bit towards the end, and I definitely had a few moments where I wondered when it was actually going to end. However, the ending itself – when it did come – brought the film full-circle and gave a satisfying conclusion to the rollercoaster just witnessed.
Overall, I’d say the film was an entertaining post-apocalyptic action drama with surprisingly original action sequences and characters the audience grows to care about by the end. It’s probably not a movie you need to go out and see in theaters, as it might not be the best use of your time and money and doesn’t beg to be seen on the big screen like a huge blockbuster. But if it sounds interesting to you, I’d recommend giving it a shot when it’s released on a streaming service.
And now, as promised, a spoiler for the fate of the dog in the film for anyone who needs to know:
Unfortunately, the dog does not make it past the first 30-45 minutes. It is not a long, drawn-out scene, thankfully, so you might just want to mark that time as your bathroom break and get back to it after.
Senior Emily Myers is a Copy Editor. Her email is emyers3@fandm.edu.