Ridley Scott’s latest work, The Dog Stars, is yet another in a long line of post-apocalyptic stories where survivors of some type of plague traverse a desolate world. With a filmmaker such as Sir Ridley at the helm, one would hope such a tired premise would be elevated to something inventive and original. Unfortunately, the picture fails to distinguish itself from the dozen or more similar stories that continue to fill our streaming services and movie theaters year after year.
Adapted by Mark L. Smith from Peter Heller’s 2012 novel, the screenplay taps into a post-Covid world, as society has been destroyed by a virus. A lot could be said about the mishandling of such an event by governments and medical experts and the split of a functioning society into warring pockets of survivors could find interesting parallels with the events of today. Smith’s script removes the sociopolitical power of the tale in favor of a few action set-pieces that fail to excite.
Once again, the human race has been decimated by a pandemic. Hig (a dull Jacob Elordi) lost his wife to the virus and now his only link to the past is his dog, Jasper.
Hig lives at an airfield with Jasper and his only human companion, Bangley (Josh Brolin), a stereotypical gruff ex-military man who knows how to make it through a world where everyone and everything is a threat. Bangley is content living in isolation. His life is now hunting and cooking and living off the grid. Housing an arsenal of weapons, Bangley believes in shooting trespassers on sight; refusing to take any chances that could destroy his manageable fortress of solitude.
Josh Brolin is the jewel of the film, although he can play this character in his sleep. Grizzled and steadfast, there is an ease to the way Brolin approaches Bangley’s personality. A rugged survivalist , the actor finds the humanity within. The film’s most compelling presence, The Dog Stars comes alive only when Brolin appears on screen.
Hig is a skilled pilot (although constantly stating how he was a mechanic and construction guy before the world fell) who flies over the beautiful Colorado landscape scavenging for supplies. Italy and CGI backgrounds stand in for the Southern Rocky Mountains area of Colorado, although cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt captures some gorgeous images.
Haunted by the memories of his late wife (Sai Bennett), Hig stops by the home they shared together for moments of reflection and emotional self-torture. These pit stops are understandable character development, but the film does nothing with them. Hig slowly enters his unchanged house, goes into the bedroom, sits on the edge of the bed and remembers. Rinse and repeat three times.
Eventually leaving the “comfort” of the airfield (against the advice of Bangsley) to reach Grand Junction Regional Airport, which is the source of a radio transmission. Perhaps those who live there will be welcoming to fellow travelers. Hig is hopeful. Bangely is the realist. On the way, Higs is forced to crash land and needs to repair his plane. While on the ground, he encounters Pops (Guy Pearce) and his daughter, Cima (Margaret Qualley). The two live alone and deep in the woods where the violence of this new world (hopefully) cannot touch them.
It is no secret that Cima and Hig (widow and widower) will be drawn to one another. That the screenplay doesn’t rush this cliché is a positive. The issue is how Qualley has next to nothing to work with. The role is too milquetoast in its design (much stronger in the book) and there is zero chemistry between the two actors. The moments between Elordi and Qualley are flat and uninteresting, when they should have given the film an emotional fire.
Guy Pearce fares no better. The actor is settling into his grey years and Pops is a perfect fit, but the script doesn’t allow him anything beyond surface level. As written, the character holds no challenges for an actor as talented as Pearce.
One of Ridley Scott’s strengths as a filmmaker is the way he shoots action. When doing large scale battle sequences, the director has that old school ability to create something visceral and epic. While The Dog Stars doesn’t feature this type of large-scale action, there are attacks by different hordes of marauders. Scott does his best to make these scenes thrilling, but they become the equivalent of a video game. The scavengers attack and are picked off by rifle fire and/or grenades. Taking the audience away from human interactions is a mistake. Every attack is time lost from getting to know the characters on deeper levels.
To say a film with action moments would have been more exciting with less action and more conversation speaks to the picture’s core issues.
The Dog Stars holds a serious and allegorical story that has been simplified for today’s audiences. Screenwriter Smith drained the life from Heller’s tale, turning the book into a hollow and derivative Hollywood product.
Ridley Scott has made his share of great films and is a true cinematic artist. His later years have seen him say yes to projects that only his late brother, Tony, would have accepted. Films such as Exodus: Gods and Kings and Gladiator II were far below Scott’s capabilities. When he does something worthy like 2021’s artistically fulfilling character piece The Last Duel or 2023’s masterful epic Napoleon (the very type of film for which the director is known) no one pays attention.
Perhaps Scott can’t get the green light for more serious and adventurous works. Maybe the director of Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise, and Gladiator is grasping for box office relevance in an age where the “cool take” is to denounce gifted filmmakers who have long proven their worth. Whatever the case, Sir Ridley is a great director, which makes the failures of The Dog Stars hit harder.
The studio dumped the picture into the graveyard of late August; a fate reserved for movies that studios fear will be met with bad reviews and low box office. For a Ridley Scott film to suffer such an unexpected affront was puzzling. Sadly, the finished product explains the film’s unfortunate release date.
The Dog Stars comes and goes without a spark of cinematic inspiration, existing as a bland slice of post-apocalyptic life that meanders around the pretty landscapes in search of a cohesive tone.
The Dog Stars
Written by Mark L. Smith (based on the novel by Peter Heller)
Directed by Ridley Scott
Starring Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, Guy Pearce, Allison Janney
R, 118 Minutes, 20th Century Productions, Scott Free Productions