The Dog Stars Review: Apocalyptic Predictability

Ridley Scott’s latest, The Dog Stars, contains riveting action and welcome humour, but it sorely lacks both originality and an emotional core.

By the end credits, you feel as if The Dog Stars could have been weirder, sillier, or even just more unique, but instead, it’s a generally superficial dystopian thriller that we’ve seen many times before.

Scott instantly utilises colour to put down clear markers between the human world and the natural one. Some years after a flu pandemic that killed much of humanity, our man-made landscapes are brutal, dreary—harsh in their greys and unwelcoming in their outdated and derelict demeanour. In contrast, the surrounding environment—specifically, the grassy, undulating hills of Colorado—is blossoming and essentially reclaiming the world from humans. It is both beautiful and chilling, a juxtaposition of tones that The Dog Stars eloquently depicts, but there isn’t much else special beyond this impressive initial worldbuilding. It certainly never quite achieves the same level of depression and isolation that The Road (2007) reaches.

Hig (Elordi, of Wuthering Heights) is at the centre of this apocalyptic tale, living with his dog Jasper and former Marine Bangley (Josh Brolin, of Dune) on an abandoned airfield. The duo pass the time on scouting missions, keeping watch over their base for attackers, and betting thousands of dollars worth of useless money in evening games. As Hig points out, Bangley is made for this world; in fact, he seems to relish it, thriving amid the violence and ‘dog-eat-dog’ nature of it. For Hig, a former engineer who loved spending time with his pregnant wife and puppy, he still holds onto hope for the future of humanity. From this either deluded or admirable belief, The Dog Stars main plot takes flight—literally, with Hig in his battered but trusted plane. 

Scott scatters full-throttle moments of action throughout proceedings: there is a standout scene involving Bangley and a horde of savage marauders that gives us some awesome nightvision POV shots from the former’s perspective. A couple of encounters involving Hig and other marauders also amp up the tension. Yet they are too few and far between, and there is never any immense jeopardy to them. You never truly believe anything awful will happen to Hig, Cima (Margaret Qualley, of The Substance), or Pops (Guy Pearce, of The Brutalist), a father and daughter duo who Elordi’s character meets along his journey. 

Most damningly, The Dog Stars lacks a true villain. Allison Janney’s (The West Wing) late appearance gives us some hope of something fully fledged and memorable, but her character, and the setting and supporting roles that come with it, are disappointing in their execution. They are too fleeting, underplayed, and, put bluntly, half-arsed. A longer, more nuanced build-up would have worked better, but instead, The Dog Stars’ finale feels rushed. And that’s before some incredibly cheesy moments tie things up. Sentimentality is no bad thing, but here, it feels unearned. As enjoyable as the characters are, viewers will form no real emotional attachment to them.

That isn’t to say there is no fun to be had with The Dog Stars. Legendary actors Brolin and Pearce are the shining lights of the film; in particular, the former is a true treat. His charismatic turn as Bangley is enjoyably gruff, physically imposing, and most surprisingly, very witty. The funny moments are the best part of The Dog Stars and its barren world, and it again points back to the fact that Scott could have gone sillier, but instead chooses the safer options. Qualley is also good, although her character lacks any real depth, but Elordi feels wrong for the role of Hig and his performance is wooden. All of this results in a story and film that never completely goes off the rails, but also never achieves any kind of greatness or emotional impact.

The Dog Stars will be released globally in theaters on August 28, 2026.