My BRUTALLY HONEST REVIEW of THE DOG STARS!

The Dog Stars takes place in the wake of a flu pandemic that killed most of humanity, including all the antivaxxers who vote Reform UK.

Set in 2035 – by which time most people already have strange names, Hig (Jacob Elordi – Wuthering Heights) laments the loss of his wife, Melissa (Sai Bennett), and their unborn baby, the only one left with him for company is the gruff Bangley (Josh Brolin – The Running Man)… well, is Josh Brolin EVER anything but gruff?

Since Hig knows how to fly – and wants to help people, accompanied by his Alsatian, Jasper, he takes his Cessna out for deliveries to areas like the farm run by Aaron (Benedict Wong – Weapons, alongside Brolin), also a safe place for children, except that with the lack of vaccines in this era, not all of them are surviving.

Survivalist-type Bangley’s less inclined to help anyone, since if you invite anyone into your territory, that lessens the chance of it being safe, as shown when they get infiltrated by ‘Reapers’ – the human equivalent of fast zombies that you get in a similar The Last Of Us-style environment. However, he can still see the funny side that since the last doctor he saw confirmed his case of diabetes, one of the gifts his friend received in return is a case of Coke.

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Ultimately, though, Hig wants to head out to Grand Junction, Colorado, where he feels there’s still some form of life out there, his journey also taking in a meeting with Cima (Margaret Qualley – Honey Don’t), and her Dad, affectionately known as Pops (Guy Pearce – The Brutalist), the collective making this feel like a ’60s Western at times.

Allison Janney‘s Darlene will make her presence felt at one point, but The Dog Stars feels like the first 90 minutes is two episodes of a new Sky/HBO drama series, then the last 22 mins (before the credits begin) is episodes 3 and 4 – but rushed and compacted into that short space of time. If this WAS on TV, people would lap it up. In the cinema? Because it has nowhere else to go? Less so.

Meanwhile, it’s baffling how this cost $70-110m to make (the figure keeps fluctuating, unless the studio are just making it up). It looks pretty low-budget, and at a guess, I would’ve said more like $30-40m.

While I did rather enjoy this as a character place, I wouldn’t watch it again – unless they make the remaining 8 episodes properly(!), and the film also has no reason taking up space in the IMAX. Sure, it gives everyone a break from The Odyssey, but there’s just nothing IMAXy about it! In fact, when you look at the poster, above, it’s NOT reflective of a scene in the film, it just groups the key characters together.

However, it is amusing when following 2024’s Priscilla, Jacob’s character points out the Elvis constellation in the sky.

NOTE: There are no mid- nor post-credit scenes.

The Dog Stars is in cinemas now, but isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD. However, once announced, it will appear on the New DVD Blu-ray 3D and 4K releases UK list.

In the meantime, you can buy the novel on which this was based.
https://amzn.to/4xJA7s9

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The Dog Stars – Official Trailer – 20th Century Studios

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Detailed specs:

Cert:
Running time: 118 minutes
Release date: August 21st 2026
Studio: 20th Century Studios
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (ARRIRAW (4.6K))
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 7/10

Director: Ridley Scott
Producers: Michael Pruss, Cliff Roberts, Ridley Scott, Mark L Smith
Screenplay: Mark L Smith, Christopher Wilkinson
Novel: Peter Heller
Music: Harry Gregson-Williams

Cast:
Hig: Jacob Elordi
Cima: Margaret Qualley
Bangley: Josh Brolin
Pops: Guy Pearce
Darlene: Allison Janney
Aaron: Benedict Wong
Crossbow Hunter: Ewen Bremner
Logan: James Craze
John: Sam Spruell
Melissa: Sai Bennett
Ben: Sebastian Rokison-Woodall
Matilda: Alara-Star Khan

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