A surprisingly optimistic post-apocalyptic movie...
Summary
The Dog Stars is more of a post-apocalyptic drama that an all-out action flick, but it still has plenty of action with several bloody shoot-outs and explosions as well as moments of extreme tension. The performances are faultless too, but it just felt too familiar and that I’d seen it all before. It’s worth seeing on the big screen if you’re a Ridley Scott fan as the visuals never disappoint.
Plot: In a post-apocalyptic world, a virus wipes out humanity. Survivors face roaming scavengers called Reapers. Protagonist Hig, a pilot, survived the flu but lost his wife.
Review: Based on Peter Heller’s 2012 novel of the same name, Ridley Scott’s The Dog Stars is one of the director’s more contemplative features at times giving a dreamlike quality while still giving us his sumptuous visuals. It is a little more muted than usual, but we still get some gorgeous landscapes and this is more about the human characters rather than looking pretty.
This is the first film I’ve seen with Jacob Elordi and I thought he was well cast as the widowed Hig; he has a haunted face and eyes touched with grief after the loss of his wife. His dog Jasper nearly steals the show and their bond is almost quietly desperate as the animal is Hig’s last connection to his late wife.
The Dog Stars is a story of isolation, grief, survival, and what makes us human. But is there action? There are actually multiple shoot-outs and explosions and the film mostly moves along at a decent pace. The performances are all strong and I think if I were to see myself in any of the characters in such a situation I would be Josh Brolin’s Bangley, who almost enjoys this new world. Guy Pearce never disappoints and I like how he is so wary of Hig at first, but a bond slowly begins to build between them.
My main feeling while watching the film was how familiar it felt; we’ve seen so many post-apocalyptic movies in recent years that it doesn’t really stand out aside from the stellar performances.
It’s never boring though and is at times tense and atmospheric keeping things unpredictable. I like how it’s a surprisingly optimistic film actually giving you a sense of hope which is refreshing.
The score is never intrusive and yet it has a memorable main theme tune which we don’t get much these days; I loved it as it worked well with the film and I would listen to it on its own which I haven’t done with a modern score for some time.
Overall, The Dog Stars has several great action scenes including some shoot-outs and explosions and it also has excellent performances. I just felt like I had seen it before in I am Legend, and movies of that ilk. Still, this being a Ridley Scott film the scenery looks gorgeous, especially the aerial photography and it’s always good to see an R rated movie on the big screen.