In its first half hour, “The Dog Stars” – true to its name – spends a good bit of time showing us Jacob Elordi spending time with a dog.
After a deadly pandemic ravages the world, Hig (Elordi) and his trusted dog Jasper are some of the few remaining survivors left. In the years since the plague, Hig – a former mechanic with a penchant for flying planes – has built a pretty nice life for Jasper and himself, all things considered. They go on supply runs together, keeping the plane yard where Hig lives with a grumpy ex-marine named Bangley (Josh Brolin) stocked. Jasper is never far from Hig’s feet, quickly obeying every command of come, or sit, or stay. He sleeps with Hig. He goes fishing with Hig. When Hig brings a nearby mennonite village some extra supplies, Jasper tags along, happy to get his daily ration of cuddles from all the kids.
For the first act of the film, this dog takes up a lot of screen time – which, unfortunately (at least for fans of DoesTheDogDie.com), is a pretty clear indicator that Jasper is not long for this world. But beyond that, the fact that “The Dog Stars” – a post-apocalyptic drama directed by Ridley Scott and based on the novel of the same name – is willing to settle into the type of languid pace we don’t normally see in Scott’s movies is somewhat surprising.
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