Dog movie review: Channing Tatum shines in a wild ride of emotions

We have a few new options dropping in theaters this weekend and one of them is the Channing Tatum-led Dog. I saw the movie at an early screening and will share my thoughts on whether or not you should check it out this weekend.

I’ll be honest. I had ZERO interest in seeing this movie. I don’t watch trailers, so when I went to see Jackass Forever a few weeks back, I saw the trailer for the first time. I said to myself, that looks like it will be terrible. I love Channing Tatum, but this looked like an extremely ruff (couldn’t resist) and cheesy film. Today I can report I was wrong.

We often see the time a soldier spends in a war or deployed, but not what happens to these men and women after they leave. Sadly, many come back damaged and they don’t seek the help they need to find a healthy balance in their everyday lives. Briggs (Tatum) is struggling to find his groove in life and he has the chance to get this high-paying job but needs a letter of recommendation. His time in the military didn’t end well, so he struggles to find anyone willing to put their name on the line for him. Finally, Briggs former commander Luke Forbes decides that he will make the call for him if Briggs can get Lulu, soldier’s dog, to her handler’s funeral on time.

"“We train to put the whole world on our back but the hardest thing to do is knock on a friends door.”"

Dog is a wild ride of emotions and has a banger soundtrack

What paid off massively was the writing of not just the struggles that Briggs was facing post-deployment, but the battle of Lulu and how she is trying to adapt, not just post-deployment but life without her trainer. Writer Reid Carolin does a great job balancing both of these characters to show them overcome their internal battles to adapt.

Channing Tatum continues to show he has found his niche in the world of film. Tatum has the good looks and the charm, but he is also one of the funniest actors working. People don’t realize how funny Tatum can be until you see him steal the show. When you spend an hour and thirty minutes acting next to a dog, it can’t be easy, but when you spend that time delivering lines that make you laugh, cry, and laugh again, it shows how good he can be. We see him grow into the actor he can become in each film and I’m not sure we have seen him any better.

The other thing that works in the film is the miscellaneous pieces. From Kevin Nash almost having me in tears laughing to Bill Burr stealing the show in his five minutes of screen time to the banger of a soundtrack that I hope they release, all the pieces came together rather nicely.

The film is a wild ride of emotions that has you riding this high and out of nowhere, they like to punch you in the gut, so I would suggest being prepared to have the tissues handy when seeing the film. The second consecutive week (Marry Me), a film, has blown me away, with it being much better than I expected. Go see this movie this weekend.

Dog hits theaters on Feb. 18, 2022.