The Dog Stars

 

           Directed by Ridley Scott and based on the best selling novel by Peter Heller,  this is a bit of a fresh take on a post apocalyptic story. 

            It's 2035 (too close for comfort) and a strain of flu has wiped out most of mankind. Some survivors roam the countryside as "ravengers", feral armies taking supplies and killing at random. Other people, apparently immune to the virus try to survive where they can. Thankfully there are no zombies. The ravengers are bad enough.

             The film stars Jacob Elordi as Hig, a mechanic and pilot who lives with Bangley, an ex-marine, played by Josh Brolin (always cast as a tough guy lately), The two have great chemistry having lived together for years in a small deserted airfield. Co-starring are Margaret Qualley as Cima and Guy Pearce as her father "Pops".

             Hig meets Cima and Pops when he has plane trouble and is forced to land in a remote area. Other co-stars include Benedict Wong as the leader of a small Mennonite community and Alison Janney as the leader of another "community". Ms. Qualley has played her share of interesting characters of late and it's refreshing to see her in a more down to earth role.

            The cinematography by Eric Messerschmitt, is wonderful, especially when Hig is flying through the Italian skies (standing in for Colorado). Mr. Scott is no stranger to action driven scenes and while the film is more character driven and almost low key, there are a few exciting action sequences film. Late in the film, things get very weird for a short time, that seems out of place (more of a "Walking Dead" scenario minus the zombies) but it's forgivable as the story gets back on track pretty quickly.

             While it is marketed for IMAX, it's not really necessary to see it that way but the flying scenes and action scenes do look great on a big screen.