Ridley Scott’s 30th directorial feature is “The Dog Stars”. Over the past 15 years, I’ve been hit and miss with the iconic director (who’s receiving an honorary Oscar in November). He put a lot of care into “Gladiator II” and “All the Money in the World”, but “The Martian” is slightly overrated, and “Prometheus” and “Alien: Covenant” are only okay. And when it comes to “Robin Hood”, “The Last Duel”, “House of Gucci” and “Napoleon”: all are largely weak. But “The Dog Stars” may be the worst of the batch. It just isn’t special.
Jacob Elordi plays Hig in this post-apocalyptic drama (based on a 2012 novel), set in the year 2035. He lives with Bangley (Josh Brolin) — a character with a little intrigue early on, but it doesn’t last long as the script gets more and more ridiculous. Writer Mark L. Smith’s credits include fellow survival stories “The Revenant”, “Lou” and “Twisters”, which all had more to say and achieved much more with their story arcs. (But Smith also penned the subpar “The Midnight Sky” with George Clooney.)
Hig flies his plane into town (Denver) to get and bring back supplies. And he has a meaningful dog named Jasper. Through a series of events, Hig meets Cima (played by Margaret Qualley in another mediocre role, following Julia in “How to Make a Killing”) and her dad (Guy Pearce). “The Dog Stars” is basically about these characters navigating life and seeing if they can make it to the next day. There just isn’t much heft here, and Scott and Smith have nothing new to say in two uber-popular genres: end of the world flicks and dog movies.
As the film goes on, more and more potholes emerge, as well as unsuccessful filmmaking decisions, from way too much serene music, to the pacing, editing, and an extended scene with Allison Janney that’s one of the most awkwardly staged and poorly executed sequences of the year.
At least I got to laugh out loud a few times during some ridiculous, pivotal action moments. Otherwise, this is an end of summer dud and a disappointing, forgettable effort.
LCJ GRADE: D
Running Time: 118 min.