DogMan

DogMan

A boy, bruised by life, finds his salvation through the love of his dogs.

  • Released: 2023-06-15
  • Runtime: 113 minutes
  • Genre: Action, Drama, Western
  • Stars: Caleb Landry Jones, Marisa Berenson, Christopher Denham, Jojo T. Gibbs, James Payton, Frédéric Guérin, Bennett Saltzman, Gwyneth Anne Trumbore, Derek Siow, Avant Strangel, Corinne Delacour, Naima Hebrail Kidjo, Luing Andrews, Aven Campau, Jeff Mantel, William Sciortino, C.C. DeNeira, Genevieve O'Neal, Laetitia Mampaka, Michael Garza
  • Director: Luc Besson
 Comments
  • kevinthruxton - 6 June 2024
    "Luc Besson re-makes Darkman" is pretty much all you need to know
    A perfectly serviceable, competently made film with a male lead that acts the hell out of his role. And dogs. So. Many. Dogs. What's not to love?

    Well for one thing the titular character is weird and contrived, rather than heroic or tragic. Maybe if I was French I could relate to him. But I couldn't care less about him or his back story. Which, when I think about it, pretty well sums up most of Besson's movies.

    That leaves it to the dogs to carry the film. If this had been a kid's film then nothing further would need to be said. But it's not a kid's film. It's not even a family movie. This is a gritty, violent crime thriller.

    But the dogs are cute and smarter than all of the bad guys and that's not nothing. Sadly, however, all of the scenes with the dogs are so obviously staged that it takes the viewer jarringly out of the movie. Imagine a high intensity sequence involving gun play and angry tattooed men ramping up the action. Then suddenly Fido and a couple buddies trot across the screen to trigger a booby trap a la Home Alone. Suddenly all of the baddies are dead. Hurrah Dogs!!!!!
  • witster18 - 14 May 2024
    Beautifully Besson.
    Besson has fashioned another stylish and entertaining yarn. Dogman will spark some hate with all its' transgender/religious undertones; My feelings: Leave the ratings to the ratings board, and check your sensitivities at the box office..

    Detractors might complain about realism, as well as loath the films' taboo/dark themes, orrrr, one could just sit-back and go along for the ride.

    This is too fast-paced to be slow burning. It's too dark to be this much fun, and too well-fashioned to be that bad, on any level(rogerebertdotcom 1/5). To each their own. I'm in it for the style/direction.

    There are a lot of bad movies when people say, "it's popcorn movie", or "turn your brain off". Zero character depth, poor performances, CGI overload, etc. This is a different type of shut your brain off and enjoy-it, the story is outlandish and disturbing, but Besson edits like an experienced fortnighter, and the dogs are a relatable blast. Dog lovers will like this just for the dog elements. Gives new meaning to the dogs of war. Fans of the directors' previous work will like this. It's dsrk but sleek, it's criminal underbelly stuff has been done a million times before, but it always looks and sounds great with this director, always.

    Besson has used similar themes to bring an edge to his films. He paints a paradox of good and evil. You think you know the difference between good and bad(?) until u meet a hero from a Luc Besson movie. He questions innocence, questions religion, and uses revenge as salvation. He's done it again, and it looks great, again, and its entertaining as hell, again.

    The film isn't really about these dogmas anyway. It will receive some unfair hate because of their inclusion.

    Besson's films have always been an escape, for both their' lead characters, and their viewers' sometimes less than desirable and unfulfilling lives. His characters more criminal lives are still entertaining. When life gets too serious, leave it for a 2-hr Luc Besson film, where style and flare abound, where entertainment beguiles and trumps reality, where escape is not just the theme, but the purpose, where the born ruthless get justice, and born innocent, seek and unashamedly-get, salvation. Loosen up.

    It's a shame these websites like rogerebertdotcom(1/5 for example) will spend so much time analyzing this or that aspect of Dogman. I can just see them taking notes as the film starts. As if, in "their" position, they should expect anything but this. For some, this is why and what we came here-for. For some, the escape iS the purpose.

    Yeah, one could loath a lot about Dogman - Unless entertainment and sharp direction are near the top of your list. You could just shut your brain off and smile at it. That's my recommendation. Leonard Maltin gave "Weird Science" a similar scathing review.

    76/100

    Similar in tone to monkey man. Besson is a stylish and polished director. This doesn't have the action of Monkeyman, but it will likely, similarly, hold-down a top 10-12 spot in 2024's top-25. It might even be a touch better, if not just because its' more sleek editing, direction, and lead performance. Dog and sleek-movie-lovers alike will balance the political/religious/censorship hate on the other side.

    In summary - I don't know what the detractors thought they were gonna get. The film, is everything I envisioned and hoped it would be, and perhaps even better than I knew it could be.

    Recommended. Like Split, Joker, Ghostdog and Angel-A had a baby. Another stylized, entertaining Besson film. If only other 6.8's were this good looking, or entertaining. Charlie Countryman(78/100) left me with the same impression.