The Dog Stars Review

In 2035, the world has been hit by a virus that has wiped out most of the human race. All that remains are the ruins of cities, thriving wildlife, and small groups of human survivors. But the survivors have either turned into cautious hermits or deadly predators.

In Colorado, Hig lives on an old airstrip with his dog Jasper and fellow survivor Bangley. Hig is a mechanic and a pilot who lost his wife in the pandemic. Now he spends his time flying into the remains of Denver for supplies. He’s able to survive thanks to the training of Bangley, who trusts no one and shoots first.

Despite his relatively comfortable existence in this post-apocalyptic world, Hig feels empty. He longs to venture beyond Colorado to see if there are other survivors who have built a better world. Against the warnings of Bangley, Hig heads towards Grand Junction, where he believes there are other survivors. But along the way he finds what he’s looking for, just not where he expects it.

I was very much up for seeing The Dog Stars. While I didn’t read the novel by Peter Heller, I am a big fan of the post-apocalyptic genre. This film bypasses the destruction of the world itself and goes straight to the aftermath. There are no zombies, intelligent apes, aliens, or natural disasters. It is just offhandedly mentioned that there was a virus, and the story moves on to the human drama.

And that is the main focus of the film. It’s a love story set against a post-apocalyptic backdrop. But the central theme is finding life after a tragedy, be it personal tragedy or a global pandemic. How do people move on when their world has completely come crashing down, metaphorically or literally? That focus makes it unique in this genre.

The cast is great, though somewhat muted. Jacob Elordi plays Hig. While it’s a far cry from his performance as Frankenstein’s Monster, he’s good at playing an everyman here. As a mechanic and construction worker, he has the skills necessary to survive in this world. He has good chemistry with Margaret Qualley as Cima. Qualley continues to be a rising star in Hollywood with good reason. This film doesn’t make full use of her talents, but she is well paired with Elordi for the budding romance between these two broken, scarred characters.

Both characters were married before the pandemic, and both lost their spouses. That makes their situation unique, as both know the value of love, but both are hesitant to let go of their past and potentially have their hearts broken again.

The supporting cast is solid. Josh Brolin plays Bangley, a survivalist well prepared for this post-apocalyptic world. His bitterness and wariness of strangers are a sharp contrast to Hig. As distasteful as Bangley’s methods are, he’s repeatedly proven right.

Guy Pearce is also noteworthy as Pops. He’s understandably wary of outsiders and protective of his daughter Cima. He eventually warms up to Hig, and the process does feel natural for the character.

Benedict Wong also appears as Aaron, a Mennonite survivor. Wong is great in any role, but he does feel underutilized here. It would have been interesting to see how his somewhat naïve and innocent character deals with the harsh realities of post-apocalyptic Colorado, but that never happens. Maybe it’s explored more in the book.

I’ll also mention the music by Harry Gregson-Williams. It sets the mood of the film well and stands out without overpowering the visuals. Gregson-Williams has worked with director Ridley Scott before on The Martian, Gladiator II, and Kingdom of Heaven. He’s had a long career in a lot of great films, and his experience stands out here.

I’ll be touching on a couple of plot points in the following section, so if you’re sensitive to spoilers you may want to bail out now.

As far as the post-apocalyptic genre goes, The Dog Stars has almost nothing new to offer. Besides the love story and human drama, almost all of it has been done before. If you’ve watched The Walking Dead, you’ve seen a lot of the drama of human survivors battling each other.

If you’ve seen The Last of Us, you’ve seen a lot of post-apocalyptic survivors in Colorado. If you saw 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, you’ve seen crazy roving gangs of post-apocalyptic predators. It’s hard to find a new twist on a post-apocalyptic story, and The Dog Stars reiterates that.

While most of The Dog Stars is a straightforward post-apocalyptic setting, the story takes a bizarre left turn that feels wildly out of place with the rest of the film. When Hig finally arrives at Grand Junction, what he discovers there is beyond what you’re expecting in a weird way. Allison Janney as Darlene brings her A-game in the performance, but it feels like it was ripped from Twisted Metal rather than The Dog Stars.

But then again, Ridley Scott is known for some really weird elements in his films, so it shouldn’t have surprised me. This scene seems especially out of place when it is put up against an oddly light ending. Ridley Scott ends things on an unusually uplifting note for him, to the point where it feels off with the tone of the rest of the film.

Finally, let’s discuss the elephant in the room – the dog Jasper. Yes, the dog dies. That won’t sit well with a lot of people to the point that many will avoid the film because of it. It is necessary to the story, though, as it is the event that sends Hig on his journey and pushes him out of his rut. But that doesn’t make it any more pleasant to see. A lot of people die in this film too, but none will be as traumatic as seeing Jasper die. You have been warned.

The Dog Stars has action for the post-apocalyptic fans and a love story for the fans of human drama, but it has little else to put it on the map compared to Ridley Scott’s other films. It’s still worth checking out for Jacob Elordi, Margaret Qualley, and Josh Brolin.

THE DOG STARS REVIEW RATING: 6 OUT OF 10

20th Century Studios will release The Dog Stars in theaters on Friday, August 28. The film has been rated R by the Motion Picture Association (MPA) for strong violence and language.