The Dog Stars, Ridley Scott’s 30th feature film as director, opens in theatres on August 28 through 20th Century Studios. Adapted by Mark L. Smith from Peter Heller’s acclaimed 2012 novel, the film stars Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, Allison Janney, Guy Pearce and Benedict Wong in a post-apocalyptic survival story set in a world ravaged by a flu virus. It is Elordi’s second major release of 2026 after Wuthering Heights.
The critical response has been overwhelmingly negative, with reviewers largely agreeing that the film is dull, inert, and a significant disappointment for a filmmaker of Scott’s stature. A handful of more sympathetic voices exist, but they are clearly in the minority.
The story follows Hig, played by Jacob Elordi, a widower living in isolation with his loyal Belgian Malinois named Jasper, who has been his companion since before the viral plague that wiped out most of humanity. Hig shares an uneasy arrangement with Bangley, a paranoiac survivalist played by Josh Brolin, who provides the firepower while Hig flies aerial patrols in a small Cessna. When Hig intercepts a radio signal suggesting survivors are living somewhere to the west, he abandons their camp against Bangley’s wishes and sets out to find them, encountering Margaret Qualley’s character along the way.
IndieWire’s David Ehrlich set the tone for the most negative critical voices, calling the film “Ridley Scott’s 30th feature and first unnecessary one in some years”. He described the running time as “frustratingly, bizarrely inert”, calling the film not a total misfire but a deeply puzzling one, filled with “plaintive, platitudinous reflections on times and days gone by” that strain the patience well before the credits roll. His headline said it plainly: Jacob Elordi and Josh Brolin can’t save a bizarrely inert post-apocalypse movie from near-disaster.
The HoloFiles called it “a painfully generic post-apocalyptic thriller indistinguishable from The Last of Us, 28 Days Later, and countless other stories”, acknowledging two strong action set-pieces and a scene-stealing Josh Brolin before concluding that a sulking Elordi, a bland story and too little originality undermine everything else the film attempts.
Coming Soon’s review described the film as making “the apocalypse boring”, a particularly sharp observation for a genre that is supposed to traffic in urgency and dread. The review noted that the film is caught between two incompatible versions of itself: a slow, contemplative grief story and a conventional action thriller. It commits to neither and satisfies in neither register.
Discussing Film, while somewhat more measured, still called it “another messy and uneven attempt from Ridley Scott’s late career”, noting that the film feels almost entirely split in half, with “no attempt made to balance its themes”. Flickering Myth’s Rob described the film as “a bland stew of clichés and an unwieldy narrative that forces too much action in way of character development, as if three of these novels were crammed into one movie”.
The Hollywood Reporter offered the most measured mainstream review, acknowledging the film’s ambitions without fully defending its results. The review noted that Elordi “leads with introspective movie-star magnetism that evokes the heyday of Kevin Costner” and described cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt’s panoramic work as the film’s most consistently impressive element. But even this comparatively generous review described the film as having “the feel of a melancholic, character-driven Western” that struggles to fully justify its nearly two-hour runtime and noted that “even the towering sadness of his silhouette can’t rescue material that inevitably heads straight into its own apocalypse.”
The most consistent critical point across negative reviews is that Jacob Elordi’s performance, while not exactly bad, is completely wrong for a film trying to generate genuine tension and audience investment. The HoloFiles described him as “sulking” throughout. IndieWire acknowledged that “the quiet watchfulness of Elordi and his eyes make him ever a captivating actor”, but said even that cannot rescue material this inert. Discussing Film noted his performance is “dreary and understated, which suits a character caught between searching for greener pastures and committing suicide, yet it dampens his charisma and ability to hold the frame”. The Hollywood Reporter was the only major publication to offer sustained praise, calling his physical screen presence genuinely evocative.
Almost every review, positive or negative, agrees on one thing: Josh Brolin saves his scenes and sometimes the film itself. The HoloFiles specifically called him a scene-stealer. One early-access critic called him “humorous tough love” against Jacob Elordi’s introspection. Coming Soon noted that the film becomes “considerably more entertaining” at the one-hour, fifteen-minute mark when the action sequences finally arrive, the thirty-minute stretch of violence and gunplay that the marketing had promised audiences throughout. That stretch, most critics agreed, is where Brolin shines most brightly.
A handful of early screening reactions took a warmer view. Journalist Gavin Spoors called it “a warm, human, post-apocalyptic drama about the need for community, slow but consistently engaging with smart editing”. Journalist Patrick described it as “soothing and gruelling, a western set at the end of the world with a big heart, some intense Fury Road energy mixed with quiet campfires under the stars”. Another early responder called it “a consistently optimistic and enjoyable watch”. These voices are genuine, but they represent a clear minority of the overall critical conversation.
The Dog Stars arrives as one of the more anticipated films of the late summer. Ridley Scott is one of cinema’s most enduring directors, Jacob Elordi is one of its most talked-about young stars, and the source novel has a devoted readership. That combination of expectations and the film’s actual critical response makes this a genuine disappointment rather than a predictable one.
IndieWire framed the stakes correctly: this is not the first Ridley Scott film that has divided critics, and it will not be the last. But it is, as that review noted, “the first Ridley Scott joint in some years that feels totally unnecessary”. For an 88-year-old filmmaker whose recent run included House of Gucci, Napoleon and Gladiator II, The Dog Stars unfortunately lands as his quietest, least essential entry in recent memory.
The Dog Stars Trailer:
Film Details: The Dog Stars
Director: Ridley Scott
Writer: Mark L. Smith
Based on: The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
Cast: Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, Allison Janney, Guy Pearce, Benedict Wong, Ewen Bremner
Cinematography: Erik Messerschmidt
Music: Harry Gregson-Williams
Rating: R
Runtime: 1 hour 58 minutes
Production: 20th Century Studios, Scott Free Productions
Release Date: August 28, 2026
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