Ridley Scott’s The Dog Stars reworks post-apocalyptic survival drama
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Ridley Scott's new film The Dog Stars, adapted from Peter Heller's 2012 novel by screenwriter Mark L. Smith, is praised as a visually striking but genre-bending post-apocalyptic epic that culminates in a wholly unexpected third-act twist departing significantly from the source material. Jacob Elordi stars as Hig, one of the few survivors of a deadly virus, who lives with a former marine, Bangley (Josh Brolin), on a fortified Colorado airfield before setting off across the Rocky Mountains chasing a mysterious radio signal from a town called Grand Junction, in a film that matters for showing Scott stretching an intimate survival story into large-scale action while largely avoiding heavy exposition about its world.
The review praises cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt's work capturing both the Rockies and abandoned towns, and singles out Scott's staging of explosive confrontations with scavengers, likening them to Black Hawk Down or an unmade Scott Western. It notes the film deliberately withholds backstory on the virus and its antagonists, calling this restraint a clever subversion that makes the story feel more grounded than typical post-apocalyptic fare. The reviewer highlights a major, unspoiled twist late in the film that has "almost nothing to do with the original book," suggesting the screenwriters invented substantial new plot elements not found in Heller's novel.
- Ridley Scott's The Dog Stars reviewed as visually stunning post-apocalyptic epic.
- Jacob Elordi and Josh Brolin star; story diverges sharply from source novel.
- Film has a major, unspoiled third-act twist absent from the book.
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Ridley Scott's new film is based on The Dog Stars, a 2012 novel by American writer Peter Heller, adapted for the screen by Mark L. Smith. It is set after a virus has wiped out most of humanity, following a survivor named Hig, played by Jacob Elordi, and Bangley, a former marine played by Josh Brolin, as they hold out at an airfield in Colorado before travelling into the Rocky Mountains.
Ridley Scott is a veteran British director known for genre-defining films such as Alien, Blade Runner and Gladiator, and this project sees him take on post-apocalyptic survival drama, a genre built around small groups of people struggling to endure after civilisation has collapsed. The film has drawn attention for its visual style and for departing significantly from Heller's original novel in its final act.
This matters because it marks another high-profile literary adaptation from a major director working with a well-known cast, and because early reaction has focused on how far the film strays from its source material, a point of interest for readers who know the book as well as those coming to the story fresh.
Full account
Ridley Scott has returned to speculative fiction with The Dog Stars, an adaptation of Peter Heller's 2012 novel of the same name, scripted by Mark L. Smith, who previously wrote The Revenant. The film imagines a near-future America ravaged by a lethal flu that has killed most of the population. Jacob Elordi plays Hig, one of the survivors, who has lost his wife to the outbreak but still has his dog for company. He shares a fortified airstrip with Bangley, an ex-marine played by Josh Brolin, and the pair get by on a stockpile of whisky, cigarettes and ammunition, protected from marauding scavengers by a well-guarded perimeter. Margaret Qualley, Guy Pearce and Benedict Wong fill out the supporting cast.
Hig's routine is disrupted by a faint radio transmission he picks up only when flying his small aircraft into the Colorado mountains, seemingly coming from a settlement called Grand Junction. The distance is initially too great for a round trip, but he eventually sets out anyway, beginning a journey across the Rocky Mountain region that brings him into contact with new allies as well as fresh dangers. One review highlighted the film's quieter, reflective interludes — particularly sequences of Hig gliding silently through the mountains with the engine cut — as a counterweight to its larger, more theatrical set pieces, arguing these moments keep the story emotionally grounded even as the film veers towards more heightened, almost operatic spectacle later on.
Visually, the film draws praise across the board: Scott worked with cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt, known for his collaborations with David Fincher, to contrast the unspoiled grandeur of the mountain landscape with the eerie stillness of deserted towns. The aerial photography of Elordi's character piloting his small yellow plane was singled out as a highlight. On the ground, the film stages large-scale battles against roving bands of hostile scavengers — referred to dismissively as 'roaches' by Bangley — which one account likened in scale and intensity to Scott's Black Hawk Down, while noting that neither the antagonists nor the wider collapse of civilisation are given much explanation or depth.
Critical reception so far has been mixed rather than uniformly positive, arriving at a moment when Scott, best known for Alien, Blade Runner and Gladiator, is said to be seeking a commercial rebound after Gladiator II underperformed in 2024 amid a large budget and the absence of Russell Crowe; this is also his first foray back into speculative territory since Alien: Covenant nearly a decade ago. Early reviews gathered on Rotten Tomatoes reportedly placed the film in the region of 30% from an initial batch of ten notices, with Collider awarding 6/10 and describing an uneasy blend of blockbuster spectacle and prestige science fiction, ScreenRant praising the visuals while finding the pacing sluggish, and IGN dismissing the result as mediocre and confusing.
Where outlets differ
One account concentrates on close analysis of the film's craft and tone — its cinematography, quiet character moments and how the action sequences shift the film's register — while the other is framed more around Scott's career trajectory and the film's critical reception.
The career-context report frames The Dog Stars as a potential box-office comeback for Scott after Gladiator II's struggles and his decade-long absence from science fiction, a narrative angle largely absent from the craft-focused account.
Only the second report cites specific review aggregation figures and named outlets (Collider, ScreenRant, IGN, Rotten Tomatoes), whereas the first offers a single unattributed critical perspective without comparative scores.
The first account gives more detail on the plot mechanics (the Grand Junction radio signal, the airfield setup) and visual style, while the second gives more detail on cast, Scott's filmography and the film's commercial stakes.
More coverage
- Collider — Ridley Scott's New "Mediocre" Sci-Fi Action Thriller Is Officially His Most Controversial
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Originally published by Polygon as “‘The Dog Stars Review: Ridley Scott’s New Sci-Fi Odyssey Is an Action Movie Like No Other”.