The Dog Stars

In 2035 a deadly virus has wiped out most of humanity, leaving those who are left to fight for survival against reapers, those out to terrorize, and roaches, unknown interlopers. Hig (Jacob Elordi, "Frankenstein," "Wuthering Heights"), a mechanic, has partnered with an ex-military survivalist, Bangley (Josh Brolin, "Weapons"), on an abandoned airstrip in Erie, Colorado. He flies a Cessna into Denver for supplies, stopping to help out a Mennonite community, and sleeps outside with his beloved Malinois Jasper in "The Dog Stars."

Laura's Review: B

There have been too many post-apocalyptic movies and television shows to mention, but "The Dog Stars" is a little different due to director Ridley Scott's ("Blade Runner," "Gladiator II") lyrical flying sequences and Jacob Elordi's compassionate, melancholy performance. While the film features sequences of ruthless humans attempting to kill others for supplies, it is more about searching for what makes life worth living and the difference between mere survival and hoping for something better.

Those two contrasts can be found in Bangley, a 'shoot first, ask questions later' type who looks askance at Hig helping 'the Mormons,' and Hig, who visits the home he once shared with his wife Melissa (Sai Bennett) on every trip to Denver and who searches for a voice he's heard coming over his radio from Grand Junction. While Bangley mans a watchtower looking for potential interlopers, Hig grows vegetables and takes Jasper up in his Cessna looping through mountains, but also suggesting he may fly straight into one one day ('Don't worry, I'll let you out first' he tells Jasper). These sequences are beautiful, cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt ("Mank," Ferrari") capturing both the Cessna's graceful flight and the pristine landscape, complemented by Harry Gregson-Williams' ("The Martian," "Gladiator II") score.

We'll see the opposite when Hig lands in a Denver production designer Chris Seagers ("Alien: Covenant") has turned into a desolate and overgrown place (shades of 'The Walking Dead'). He hits multiple places with Jasper in golf cart, only encountering danger when he returns to leave, a guy with a crossbow (Ewen Bremner, "Trainspotting") demanding his keys, unaware that Hig is better armed than he. When he returns, Bangley will shoot two outsiders on the periphery of their airstrip, Hig noting that 'they were only kids.' After another of Hig's flights, Bangley allows more lethal outsiders to approach his partner for not having spotted them from above with a tragic result. It is after this that Hig decides to leave for Grand Junction. Bangley puts on a brave face, but refuses to accompany him.

Hig will be forced to land in a field when his plane encounters mechanical issues and, spotting a donkey, decides to follow it. He'll find a farm but Pops (Guy Pearce, "The Brutalist"), much like Bangley, demands he leaves at gunpoint. Pops' daughter Cima (Margaret Qualley, "The Substance"), much like Hig, is more trusting (and also grieving the loss of a spouse) and begins to help him fix his plane and clear a path for a runway. Eventually Pops warms to Hig, alerting him to a band of reapers on horseback which force all three to fly off towards Grand Junction where the limits of trust will become sorely evident.

Mark L. Smith ("The Revenant," "Twisters") adaptation Peter Heller's book has occasional bumps with awkward transitions back to check on Bangley, but Ridley's low key approach, despite such rousing scenes as a bison stampede, emphasizes mournful emotion with Elordi and Qualley's relationship dance building slowly, just as both Brolin and Pearce's characters gradually warm up. The film also features Brolin's "Weapons" castmate Benedict Wong as the leader of the Mennonite group. Allison Janney drops in from another planet entirely as Darlene, the voice from Grand Junction, supported by Sam Spruell ("Insidious: Out of the Further") and James Craze as her bizarro minions. If the Grand Junction sequence dives into the more outré aspects of 'The Walking Dead' (it almost has a "The Shining" Gold Room/ballroom vibe) like something out of a different movie altogether, it comes back down to earth for a hopeful, satisfying conclusion.

20th Century Studios releases "The Dog Stars" in theaters on 8/28/26.