[FILM]
DOG
It’s a dog’s life for Jackson (Channing Tatum) and Lulu.
★★★
OUT 18 FEBRUARY
CERT 12A / 101 MINS
DIRECTORS Channing Tatum, Reid Carolin
CAST Channing Tatum, Jane Adams, Kevin Nash, Q’orianka Kilcher, Ethan Suplee
PLOT Former US army ranger Jackson Briggs (Tatum) is desperate to get back to the combat zone. His chance comes in an unusual deal — bring Lulu, a Belgian Malinois military working dog, cross country to the funeral of a fallen comrade and he can return to action. The only problem: Lulu is a feral killing machine.
DOG ISN’T THE movie you think it is. From its poster and tagline (“A filthy animal unfit for human company and a… Dog”), the joint directorial debut of Channing Tatum and long-term producing partner Reid Carolin appears to be a misadventures-with-a-mutt movie, full of shaggy shenanigans and heart, of the type that has been a mainstay of cinema since movies began. But while Dog certainly borrows licks from the sub-genre’s playbook — a wet hound shaking water all over a posh hotel bed; two broken souls who heal each other — it shoots for a more interesting take, encompassing a portrait of a disenfranchised middle America and a more nuanced commentary on the life of post-war vets. The result is a mixed bag, held together by Tatum’s easy-going charisma.