The Dog Stars

2026, 118 mins, R

**1/2 out of ****

Directed by Ridley Scott

Screenplay by Mark L. Smith. Based on the Novel by Peter Heller.

Produced by Ridley Scott, Michael Pruss, Mark L. Smith, Cliff Roberts

Cast: Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Maragret Qualley, Guy Pearce, Alison Janney

I read the book of “The Dog Stars” in August before the movie came out. The book tells a simple story of complex people in the aftermath of a flu pandemic. I knew there would be certain changes made, as there usually are, between page and screen to make more palatable for an audience. There were some changes that were acceptable and many were completely gratuitous and didn’t add the layers of depth that the filmmakers that they would.

The film tells the story of Hig (Jacob Elordi), an ex-mechanic, who now lives in Erie, Colorado in the years following a flu pandemic. He lives with the survivalist Bangley (Josh Brolin) who is ex-military, and his aging dog Jasper. The inhabit an abandoned airfield with derelict planes and buildings filling the space and frequently occupy their defending their turf from potential deadly outsiders, tending to some families that live on the outermost reaches of the perimeter, and patrolling the area beyond their perimeter by airplane. While out on patrol Hig makes frequent landings in the city to stock and supplies like gas, water, food, and soda. Bangley handles the weaponry.

Hig is very contemplative throughout the story, and reminiscing about his deceased wife and the family they were going to have before the pandemic. This makes him depressed and he often ponders potentially flying his plane into the side of a big mountain. Bangley and Jasper keep him going but mostly he misses his wife.

One day Hig hears a mysterious radio signal and after years of radio silence that gives him hope that there are other signs of life beyond their territory. Lifted by the possibility he ventures further out to see what he can find and meets a young, strong woman, Cena (Margaret Qualley) and her ornery father (Guy Pearce) thus adding to the number of allies.

So far so good, except the movie departs significantly from the novel to settle on post-apocalyptic movie cliches. One of them is a horde of almost zombie-like marauders called the Reapers. These hordes have one purpose only to mindlessly attack. In one scene they even pile on top of Hig’s plane to prevent him from taking off. There’s another major change which I won’t spoil because it happens much later in the film which I simply wasn’t with at all. Again, it’s another change where the filmmakers opted for something more spectacular to elevate the film’s scale but is completely pointless in terms of its necessity and place in the story.

The film is Directed by Ridley Scott so you know it’s going to be an amazing film to look at. On a visual level “The Dog Stars” does not disappoint. Eric Messerschmidt’s cinematography is frequently eye-catching and gorgeous in the flying sequences and totally worthy of Scott’s always visionary approach. The film is sometimes thrilling to watch when it’s scaled down to a human level. Elordi is passable as Hig though he seems to be lacking the necessary energy you’d expect from a lead in a movie like this. Brolin, Qualley, and Pearce are all fine in their two-dimensional characters. It appears that the filmmakers need to simplify things extended to the people as well.

I didn’t like “The Dog Stars” but I didn’t have a bad time watching it. It has enough to almost get there and remain watchable but is frequently let down by its apparent need to over-streamline the characters and over-scale the action.