Ridley Scott's new post-apocalyptic film The Dog Stars, starring Jacob Elordi, is a tonal and structural mess that highlights a recurring pattern in the director's career: his craftsmanship can't compensate for a weak script. The film follows Hig (Elordi), a mechanic and pilot scavenging a collapsed, pandemic-ravaged Colorado, whose bond with his dog and dead wife matter more to him than his uneasy partnership with fellow survivor Bangley (Josh Brolin), as he sets off to find other survivors including Cima (Margaret Qualley) and her father (Guy Pearce).

The review argues Scott's films succeed or fail largely based on the strength of the screenplay he's given, citing Thelma & Louise, Gladiator and The Martian as high points against misfires like Exodus: Gods and Kings and Prometheus. Mark L. Smith's adaptation is criticised for veering into a jarringly different tone partway through, alongside noticeable continuity errors, such as a plane wing flap that detaches during a bison stampede but reappears intact afterwards. Elordi's underwritten lead character is said to lack depth, though he and Qualley bring some energy to their scenes together, while Allison Janney's role is described as feeling like it belongs in an entirely different film.