27/08/2026
Thereās no two ways about it, The Dog Stars is kind of a mess. But to be fair, at least itās an interesting one.
Tonally, itās all over the place. At times it feels like The Walking Dead without the zombies, Mad Max without the desert, with a bit of Falloutās absurdity thrown in. Then it suddenly turns into a Filipino rom-com, complete with an overprotective dad and the protagonist doing farm work to earn his favor.
I honestly couldnāt tell if Ridley Scott was going for a grounded post-apocalyptic drama or a shoot-em-up. A friend missed the first thirty minutes of the movie and asked me what he missed. I told him, not much really. The action is so back-loaded that it almost feels like two different movies.
My bigger issue is the world itself. Weāre told a flu wiped out most of humanity and gangs have formed, but thatās about as far as it goes. What was the virus? Who are these gangs? What do they believe in? What do they want?
There are so many ideas here that sound interesting, but the movie keeps introducing them without really doing anything with them. Which is why I think this probably wouldāve worked better as a series.
The star-studded cast makes it watchable, although Iām not sure Jacob Elordi was the right choice for the lead. The character needs a bit more vulnerability, but Elordi is so physically imposing that you never really feel like heās in danger. The guy just towers over everybody.
Still, itās Ridley Scott, so of course there are moments where you remember whoās behind the camera. Josh Brolin defending his homestead is easily the best part of the movie. That sequence is tense, violent and genuinely exciting. I just wish the rest of the film had that same urgency.
Even the main story feels very familiar at this point. Elordi is searching for a community that may or may not exist, but the movie doesnāt do enough to make you buy into why this particular journey matters so much.
Thereās a lot here I wanted The Dog Stars to explore. Unfortunately, it seems more interested in introducing ideas than actually doing anything with them.
