Dog – Film Review

With a dog named Lulu by his side, Army Ranger Briggs (Channing Tatum) races down the Pacific Coast to make it to a soldier’s funeral on time. Along the way, Briggs and Lulu drive each other completely crazy, break a handful of laws, narrowly evade death, and learn to let down their guards to have a fighting chance of finding happiness.

What is it about dog movies that are so charming? Sure, we all know that dogs are man’s best friend, but when watching a movie with a dog in one of the main roles, you’re not actually with a dog (unless you watch it with your pooch). But for whatever reason, there’s this all-encompassing warmth that comes with these movies.

It’s like you’re being wrapped up in some invisible blanket. Was 2020’s Call of the Wild a masterpiece? Absolutely not. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a blast watching Harrison Ford roam the world with a dog. So, why in the world is the new Channing Tatum film Dog so boring?

Even after having seen the movie now, I genuinely don’t understand what the point of this film was. It almost seemed as if they were trying to make Tatum’s character someone who was strongly opposed to dogs but in the beginning of the movie, that’s simply not true.

The first time he sees the film’s title dog, he is open and friendly and is willing to have the animal as his companion. Perhaps the filmmakers were trying to make this movie a heartwarming look at a macho man and his dog traveling the world and seeing new things, but it ended up being majorly boring in the long run.

There’s really no surprises in store with Dog either. When I was watching the film, I found myself constantly waiting for that scene where the whole movie is suddenly different and will continue to be different for the remainder of the running time. However… that scene never came.

I want to be perfectly clear, though – Dog is not an awful movie. This movie did have plenty of sequences that made me smile and there is an oddly comforting energy to this film. I just wanted a lot more out of it. Maybe other people that watch the film will find it a lot more entertaining, but I just didn’t find a movie about a guy driving around with a dog with no conflict present too interesting.

Tatum does a fantastic job in the director’s chair alongside Reid Carolin, but I just struggle to see why this film exists. Nothing about it is terrible, but nothing about it is all that great either. It’s easily one of the strangest movies I’ve seen all year because it just kind of… exists.

Dog is a frustratingly boring comedy road drama that has little substance, even if Channing Tatum’s talents are excellently displayed.