The Dog Stars (15)

A deadly virus has almost wiped homo sapiens off the surface of Earth. The few survivors of the devastation huddle together, protecting resources and each other from marauding bandits called Reapers. Young pilot Hig has found a new home with military survivalist Bangley at an abandoned airport with protections from Reaper attacks. A mysterious radio transmission convinces Hig there may still be hope beyond the horizon.

LondonNet Film Review

The Dog Stars (15) Film Review from LondonNet

If the world as we know it ends, and society and law and order fracture beyond repair, humanity’s greatest challenge will be protecting the last vestiges of tenderness and compassion. That battle is largely lost in The Dog Stars, a dystopian sci-fi thriller adapted by screenwriter Mark L Smith from Peter Heller’s novel and directed by Sir Ridley Scott, set in 2035 Colorado in the aftermath of a deadly global pandemic. Guilt and regret are constant companions to those who remain, or as one survivor remarks, “You gotta have something to haunt you… otherwise you might get lonely.”…

Survivors of the virus that almost wiped humanity off the face of Earth protect precious resources and each other from violent marauding scavengers called Reapers. Mechanic and pilot Hig (Jacob Elordi) lost his wife Melissa (Sai Bennett) and first child to the contagion. Now, he lives at an abandoned airport in the wilderness on the outskirts of Denver with a German shepherd named Jasper and cantankerous military survivalist Bangley (Josh Brolin).

Bangley has everything he needs: power, food, water, weapons and a perimeter he can defend. “This world fits you,” Hig tells the gun-toting grouch. Every day, Hig takes to the sky in his 1956 Cessna to scout for signs of life, identify approaching threats and track the source of a faint radio signal, which would confirm other survivors and, thus, hope beyond the horizon. Tragedy strikes and Hig’s usual airborne routine leads him to fiercely protective father Pops (Guy Pearce) and his medically minded daughter, Cima (Margaret Qualley). Pops doesn’t want an outsider near his self-sufficient homestead or only child but, a strapping widower like Hig is the least of his worries.

The Dog Stars is a muscular study of grim-faced resilience, which errs on the side of restraint for long stretches, punctuating Hig’s teary-eyed reminiscence with stark reminders of the danger that lurks just out of eyeshot. Action set pieces are delivered with the multi-camera bombast, impressive practical effects and spectacular stunts you expect from the ringmaster of Gladiator and The Martian, including a terrific chase between Hig in his temporarily grounded plane and a horde of axe-wielding Reapers on horseback.

Elordi effortlessly holds attention and there is a pleasingly fractious surrogate father-son dynamic with Brolin’s sharp-shooter, who demonstrates his physical prowess in a nerve-jangling set piece shot in part through night-vision goggles. Smith’s script only embraces barking madness in a discomfiting and psychedelic final act that follows Hig to the mysterious Grand Junction outpost in search of fellow survivors. Oscar-winner Allison Janney chews scenery with relish as a former flight attendant, Scott serves complimentary nuts and credulity finally goes up in flames.

– Jo Planter