Ridley Scott’s “The Dog Stars” follows Hig, a mechanic surviving in flu-ravaged post-apocalyptic Colorado alongside a former Marine and his dog. The reviewer finds the film visually pleasant and competently acted, but ultimately a dull, forgettable western-inflected survival story with limited emotional investment.

Hig searches for supplies by plane, recalls his late wife and eventually leaves the airport refuge to seek civilisation beyond the mountains, encountering hostile survivors and violent “Reapers”. Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Guy Pearce and Allison Janney are praised, while the review criticises Hig as a conventional dystopian hero and gives the 118-minute, R-rated film two stars, advising readers to skip it.