First Reactions: Cineplay Reporter’s Star Rating for 〈The Dog Stars: Last Hope〉

The film delivers a very consistent experience. The sweeping natural landscapes we see whenever Hig (Jacob Elordi) takes to the air, and the bursts of action that crank up the adrenaline despite their brevity, are genuinely stirring. The problem is that, for a film set in a post-apocalypse, it moves overly slowly. The opening is practically slow cinema, but the climax feels as brief as a YouTube Short. The build-up intended to convey Hig's emotional state is long, and even so his transformation doesn't land strongly. Individual scenes reveal the director's ambition, but the overall story and structure feel almost archetypal for the genre—too conventional. It's a pity that striking elements such as the cinematography, the music, and the actors' performances don't cohere into a single, unified work.