'A Dog's Purpose' Review
10:02
Directed by Lasse Hallstrom
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Britt Robertson, Peggy Lipton, Josh Gad.
Through all of the controversy surrounding this film and how it may or may not have treat animals on set, I never planned on seeing this movie. At the same time, I was never going to boycott it either. So in the end I did end up seeing it, not out of choice mind. Just know this review will be a bit shorter than others, as I really don't have too much to say about it. In the end, its all bark and no bite. Or should it be all bite and no bark? I have no clue.
Yet, there's something I did like about this film. You always know when going into a film about dogs that there will be a sad and emotional feeling to it, and that's what I got. But it didn't hit me quite like Homeward Bound or Marley and Me did. The real problem with this film is that it's too late into the genre of 'dog' films if you can call them that, that it's just not and original idea anymore.
The film follows the story of a Golden Retriever who spends his life as different dogs, being reincarnated into an Alsatian, a Corgi and a few others, who attempts to discover the meaning of being a dog. It's hard to put into words what the film really tries to get at - what I do appreciate is the idea of having this one dog reincarnate into other dogs but part of it just feels a bit depressing, as each of the dogs stories gets sadder and sadder and whilst this could be regarded as a family film, I honestly felt upset in the end, even with it's happy ending.
The acting in the film isn't really anything tremendous at all, the only notable performance comes from Josh Gad who voices the dog, but even still it doesn't really hit home for me. The thing is, this isn't the worst film I've seen so far this year. I enjoyed parts of it, and I appreciate what the film tried to do here, but in the end I really think it tried to bring the genre back but missed the mark. If you want a good pet film, Homeward Bound is the one. This one just needed to be a bit more creative, and present some fresh ideas. But hey, my dog enjoyed it at least!
The Good
- Reincarnation idea
- Some loveable moments
- Emotional parts are touching
The Bad
- Not very original
- Can get too depressing
- Bland performences
6/10
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