THE STORY – After the world’s population has been ravaged by a pandemic, a man lives a lonesome existence in a Colorado airplane hangar with his dog and a dour gunman he has befriended. When a mysterious transmission comes through on the radio while he’s flying his old Cessna, it sparks a hunt for the provenance of the sound.
THE CAST – Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, Guy Pearce, Allison Janney & Benedict Wong
THE TEAM – Ridley Scott (Director) & Mark L. Smith (Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 118 Minutes
Ridley Scott may be one of, if not the last, filmmakers of his generation not defined by one genre, a classic of his, or even a dud. If anything, his refusal to slow down has become the most prominent aspect of his persona this decade, on full display in the four features he’s made in six years. “The Last Duel,” which shows all that’s alluring about this late-Scott era of his career, was a quality effort ultimately overshadowed by his self-serious disaster piece, “House of Gucci.” Scale, which is something Scott has never shied away from, has only been more notable in his last two features: “Napoleon,” a misfire for many (not including myself), and “Gladiator II,” a sequel to one of his most iconic films that, while being a box office success, surely faded from most of our memories to forever stand in the shadow of its predecessor.
It begs the question: where does Scott go from here? With his hands in many potential projects, an adaptation of Peter Heller’s “The Dog Stars“ could be the film to balance the grandeur found in many of Scott’s films while telling an intimate story of finding something worth surviving for. Yet “The Dog Stars“ remains symptomatic of what has plagued many of Scott’s films since the 2010s: his work is only as good as the words on the page. This only adds another challenge to Jacob Elordi, fresh off his Academy Award-nominated turn in “Frankenstein,“ who now finds himself as number one on the call sheet for the first time in his career. It’s not the first time Scott has turned a rising dreamboat into the face of a hundred-million-dollar production; just look at Paul Mescal in “Gladiator II.“ Elordi, cast after Mescal dropped out of the project, plays Higs, a sensitive mechanic surviving an apocalypse ravaged by an influenza-type pandemic, who constantly scours the empty Denver streets alongside his canine companion, Jasper, for supplies. The opening of the film may be the only time screenwriter Mark L. Smith and Scott are in tune, as Scott slows the pace a bit while audiences spend the beginning of “The Dog Stars“ embracing the near solitude of Higs’ life.
Higs, despite having companionship and Josh Brolin’s Bangley, is eager to find some semblance of a world that no longer exists. He flies around the mist-filled mountains of the Colorado mountainside, letting go of his inhibitions, which, if anything, are tied to the suicidal tendencies bumbling in his soul. Elordi’s magnetism as a movie star does him no favors here, trying to muster a sentimentality that is bludgeoned narratively almost in an instant. Even in a project like “On Swift Horses,“ his natural charisma does dividends to material that doesn’t elevate his natural talents. Here, he taps into a typical Scott-branded stoicism that runs through many of his protagonists. At times, Hig’s subtly sad nature tries to break through, with Elordi working overtime to convey the pain this character is wrestling with. Elordi is reliable enough in the role, yet far more bland than I thought possible for a performer of his caliber.
Where “The Dog Stars“ remains the most enjoyable is whenever Brolin appears on screen. Bangley, a cigar-smoking survivalist whose cynicism cuts to the heart of mankind, is maybe the most captivating aspect of “The Dog Stars,“ which says something, considering the narrative deviations that take place throughout the latter half of the film. His gun-ho mentality provides an emotional conflict early on for an averse-to-violence Higs, mainly trying to navigate this world with as little conflict as possible. It’s all but forgotten as Brolin relishes some of the more visually conceived set pieces that wrap up story threads, all of which audiences take as far more prominent.
That seems to be the biggest issue with “The Dog Stars”: the longer it separates itself from the almost “I Am Legend”- esque opening and goes further into the episodic outings of where Higs ends up, the worse it gets. Audiences watch Elordi fly across Colorado in search of Grand Junction to find the mysterious voice, played by Allison Janney, that takes his hope and turns it into something comparable in this world. Along the way, he meets others, mainly a father-daughter duo, Cima (Margaret Qualley) and Pops (played by Guy Pearce). Their reluctant relationship hits all the expected beats of tortured survivors finding solace in each other’s company. Qualley makes the most of it, while Pearce, like Elordi, is solid, but he’s there often for comedic purposes, playing the role of a skeptic who doesn’t want some stranger eyeing down his daughter.
If Scott’s direction weren’t as formidable as it was, “The Dog Stars“ would be far less watchable, as there are plenty of moments that would kill the project in far weaker hands. His style of keeping a barrage of cameras rolling is still present, mainly as Erik Messerschmidt attempts to capture the beauty of the skies with elongated aerial sequences shot for IMAX. While it’s admirable to watch this Cessna fly through the open skies, there’s no synchronicity between what we are witnessing and what it’s supposed to feel like. These moments feel less amazing because they’re edited like they were prepped for an episode of a Paramount+ series. The action is even more forgettable, even though Scott is an expert at constructing and choreographing spectacle. It only makes the more cartoonish aspects of “The Dog Stars,“ such as Janney’s flight-attendant-dressed Darlene, clash with the tone he’s trying to build. It’s far from a disaster, yet for someone of Scott’s talent, a middling effort may sting just as badly as a complete misfire. For those hoping for a heartwarming adventure with Elorid and a cute animal sidekick, this will surely disappoint. At least they won’t be as disappointed as longtime Scott fans hoping this is the one film that shows why he is still one of the titans of this industry. Guess it’s time to set our sights onward to “Treasure Island.”
