Review of A Dog's Purpose (2017) by Drew M — 05 Feb 2017

A Dog's Purpose.

Initial Reaction: To love their master no matter what?

Main Characters.

Baily/Buddy/Tino/Elle: Several dogs that share the same voice - Josh Gad's.

Plot Summary.

Life was great for Baily. He was brought into a great home and made great friends with his master, a boy named Ethan.

He and Ethan grew up together, facing several of life's usual challenges: school, dating, domestic arguments and having fun tossing a flat football like it's a Frisbee.

But Bailey was getting really old and in due time, he passes away from old age.

That's when things take a strange turn. Bailey comes back as another dog - a police dog. He doesn't like that life a lot and wishes he could be back with Ethan.

But in order to do that, he has to live several more dog incarnations - and get really lucky along the way.

SCORING.

Main Characters.

I like Bailey a lot. He and Ethan share so much chemistry that the scenes they are in are a joy to watch. But when he becomes those other dogs, the joy vanishes and it feels like a cardboard cut out. SCORE: 5.

Supporting Cast.

Ethan is really good here - as a kid, teenager and adult. And his mother shines as well. But the rest of the cast just doesn't hold my interest at all (from a police officer to a college student). SCORE: 5.

Plot.

The very first act and the very last act where (you guessed it) Baily and Ethan are on screen at the same time are the best part.

Everything else felt like filler that I just wanted over with as soon as possible. SCORE: 5.

Originality.

This is your average family movie about a kid and his dog - but then tries to cram in way too much in the middle. SCORE: 3.

Violence Factor.

This film does have some scary parts - a house gets burned down with someone breaking a leg, and there's a violent confrontation between the police and a kidnapper (which felt like it was tacked on just to make the story exciting). SCORE: 3.

Other Moral Issues.

After seeing the film, I still wonder what the purposes of the dogs in the film are. I know that it portrays a message about the importance of family and friends, but the message felt disjointed and muddled to me. SCORE: 3.

Final Score (out of 60): 24 % Score: 40%.

This beginning and end of the film were great. The middle, though - really terrible.