The Dog Stars (USA/UK, 2026)

Conventional wisdom might argue that Ridley Scott is a great director and, to be fair, he has made several films that aren't just considered great, but are iconic. That, however, was half a lifetime ago and his recent resume is considerably more checkered. Nothing about his latest, a throwaway called The Dog Stars that has been tossed into theaters during the death throes of the summer season, is likely to remind viewers of Scott's better days. Whether or not this oddly paced post-apocalyptic film underwent significant post-production reconstruction is known only to the filmmakers, but it has all the hallmarks of something that has been tinkered with in a big way.

To begin with, there's far too much story to fit into a two-hour block. Scott has encountered similar time constraints previously. Kingdom of Heaven immediately comes to mind—a middling theatrical release, it became a compelling epic when about an hour was restored. I'm not arguing that The Dog Stars is another Kingdom of Heaven, but the rushed backstory, unsatisfying world-building, and inelegant transitions argue that far too much may have ended up on the cutting room floor. (Either that, or the filmmakers took too many shortcuts along the way.) The ending in particular is a mess. The final act contains a surreal, out-of-place sequence, followed by a slow, elliptical deceleration to an anticlimactic conclusion. Were there plans for something bleaker? There are certainly hints. However, regardless of what might have been, there are issues with what made it to the screen.

The film's first half is better (not to mention more coherent) than its messy second half. It introduces the protagonist, the shy, dour Hig (Jacob Elordi), who was a mechanic before a worldwide pandemic wiped out most of the planet's human population. He and his partner, Bangley (Josh Brolin), protect their survivalist compound from marauding "roaches" while Hig takes his plane out on supply runs and to visit the home where he lived with his wife before the flu took her from him. Soul-sick and weary after the death of his dog, Hig decides to leave Bangley behind and go on a quest to see if humankind has survived in Grand Rapids. He doesn't get there, however; plane troubles force an emergency landing that leaves him stranded in the wilderness until a chance encounter with Cima (Margaret Qualley) and Pops (Guy Pearce) gives him allies as he seeks to repair the plane and get back into the air. 

The scenes in the middle of nowhere, with Hig overcoming suspicion to form a bond with Cima and her grumpy father, represent the best that The Dog Stars has to offer. They provide a peek into what the movie could have been had the pace been slowed and the plot allowed to move in a more leisurely fashion. The growing attachment between Hig and Cima shows how both of them, wounded by the grief of loss, grope for some kind of connection as they go about the business of navigating the new reality. This is where the movie finds its soul—something it loses too quickly as the plot thunders by with all the finesse of the herd of bison that nearly tramples Hig. 

There's not a lot Jacob Elordi can do to bring energy to a character who is too passive and taciturn to really work as a protagonist. Pairing him with Josh Brolin, who's playing the ex-Marine stereotype to a "T" while trying for the Nick Nolte mugshot look, creates effective yin/yang interplay, but their co-screen time is limited. And there's some low-key chemistry with Margaret Qualley, who is playing an unusually (at least by her standards) subdued character. Allison Janney is deliciously off-the-wall in a small part that belongs in a completely different movie. (And Benedict Wong is essentially buried in a late-in-the-proceedings supporting role that is little more than a cameo.) 

It feels ironic to say that the best things about The Dog Stars are the most familiar and the things that don't work are the ones where it breaks convention. Had the entire film been simply content to churn through the tired dystopian/survivalist tropes of the first half, it would likely have been moderately entertaining but completely forgettable. By going down the rabbit hole, it tries to be different but is undone by precipitous storytelling and haphazard execution. 

While there's seemingly a strong demand for post-apocalyptic tales, it's hard to argue that The Dog Stars offers anything that's either sufficiently unique or well enough crafted to warrant a place at the table of woe and survival. The movie doesn't fall into the category of so-bad-it's-unwatchable, but it is ultimately a rather frustrating and unsatisfying experience, and the numerous third act issues left me scratching my head and wondering how no one figured out how to fix some very obvious structural flaws.

The Dog Stars (USA/UK, 2026)