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The Dog Stars may have a terrible title but the latest from Ridley Scott is a gorgeous, engaging action-drama set in a world where a flu pandemic has wiped out most of humanity.
Based on a book by the same name that presumably explains why the entire story is called the “dog stars” more than this movie ever does—yes, I get what they mean but I don’t get why you’d give a post-apocalyptic movie about a depressed dude who lives with a dude who is very good at killing people who meets a hot girl and maybe or maybe not falls in love with her a kill-the-box-office-title like The Dog Stars—the production (yes, this sentence is still going) stars Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Guy Pierce and Margaret Qualley.
Because when the world is on the verge of dying for good, it’s a shame the only survivors are uglies like Elordi and Qualley. We definitely don’t want to see them mate and have offspring and repopulate this planet, do we?
Well, neither does Ridley Scott either because the romance, in part thanks to underdeveloped but well-acted characters, is the weakest part of the movie. Give us some sex! Some nudity! At least a peck on the cheek?
But The Dog Stars succeeds in other ways. Elordi makes for a strong and convincing lead, even if he looks just too damn sexy to be living in a world that barely exists (I’m a straight male, for the record). Qualley is great, too, but I wanted to learn more about her and see her do more than is given here. She’s a doctor but barely contributes in a meaningful way, even though the actress brings sincerity to the role. Brolin is an absolute badass in all the right ways, and gets the action scenes to prove it.
While The Dog Stars isn’t an outright action movie—it ultimately is more interested in its complex and potentially (though unconvincingly) suicidal protagonist and his journey through grief—Scott delivers several solid action sequences that range from sniping off invaders to escaping from some of the weirdest people put to screen this year (led by a creepy Allison Janney). And yes, I’m taking The Bone Temple into account.
The movie looks like a Ridley Scott film too, with lush visuals and some spectacular aerial cinematography that presents a different perspective on a world without humans.
Sadly, the movie’s biggest limitation is that this post-apocalyptic world retreads on familiar ground. While the story itself is distinct enough, in the end it’s hard to differentiate The Dog Stars from many other films and TV shows that have come before it. The “reaper” baddies have been done to death since at least the early Mad Max films, and while the Allison Janney crew are definitely memorable, even their twisted oasis is the latest iteration of “preserved communities” seen in other end-of-the-world depictions. To that end, the tonal shift in the third act may not work for everyone as it really does feel out of left field (though the climactic sequence is very entertaining, albeit somewhat implausible).
The Dog Stars doesn’t really set itself apart in any way or form, and though it boasts a consistent pace it’d be hard to argue that it’s downright captivating either, the way a Mad Max: Fury Road or even a top-tier (and earlier season) Walking Dead episode operates. That’s okay—there is plenty to like and appreciate here, in part thanks to the beautiful cast and in larger part due to Ridley Scott’s talents behind the camera. Its biggest fault, really, is its dreadfully lame title.
Review by Erik Samdahl. Erik is a marketing and technology executive by day, avid movie lover by night. He is a member of the Seattle Film Critics Society.