Dog; Now That’s a Good Dog!! Grade: B

Dog tells a story about a former Army Ranger named Briggs (Channing Tatum) whom is dealing with the hardships of the aftermath of being in the military, as he has some complications with his mental health including trouble breathing in the morning and seizures. Briggs needs a phone call from a head Army Ranger in order to satisfy a need he really needs, as in order for that head Army Ranger to grant Briggs that request… Briggs must take a car ride down all the way to Arizona, to have a former Army Ranger K-9 to attend a funeral in which was the K-9’s partner.

I didn’t watch a single trailer for this film, the selling point for me was the film was about a dog and knowing I love dogs… There you have it, I’m seeing it. Dog films can often be formulaic at times, sure they’re still delightful enjoyable films because who can resist watching dogs?! However the storyline of these films can often be repetitive some as it feels like watching the same film over and over again. Thankfully with Dog this was a genuine surprise for me.

Dog honestly felt like a cross breed between Megan Leavey and Thank You for Your Service. Megan Leavey for being a film about a military dog and Thank You for Your Service uncovering the harsh reality of the mental estate many veterans have to deal with after the war and even employment/medical support too.

The story of Dog is a lovely touching story about two worn down broken souls, whom are both reckless in some regard. Briggs being the hardship of war has took a toll on his mental estate, plus being separated from his woman and his three year old daughter. Meanwhile for the K-9 the dog losing his rightful partner, whom she loved ever so deeply as he was one of the rare few that had her well behaved and such, as without him she’s hard to treat due to her reckless behavior. The development between the pair really brought out a touching companionship, bringing out the best within each other as their time together brought them closer to a healing stage in which they’ve been desperately need to find within themselves.

I also found Dog quite entertaining as well, there’s some nice intense moments, followed by having some ridiculous odd moments that really made the film throughly enjoyable to watch. The comedy material was cute, I like how Briggs continues to talk to the K-9 like she’s a real person, as I feel many dog owners can relate as they casually have a conversation with their own dogs as well. The story also brings attention towards mental health regarding war veterans, while also showing just how dogs as well have a difficult time handling past the war stuff as well.

Flaws with Dog I have were I wish they would’ve shown the sequence between Briggs and his family on Briggs’ unexpected visit. I needed more info on what exactly separated Briggs from his family, I understand his mental estate but there’s not much clarification of why his family left Briggs in the first place as I needed that area to be explored more. The closing couple minutes… I thought that was a weird way to close out your film. The whole thing was just a bit odd considering what had just happened, even the film making portion of it just didn’t quite fit in for me.

Overall, Dog is a solid film. I recommend checking this one out, not only is it one of the better films to see in theaters as far as 2022 releases, but also is one of the better dog films we’ve received in awhile too. -Mitch Smietana