A Dog's Journey
A heartwarming simple family movie. - 6/10
by Francesco Bakhos - 365 Movies Lebanon
Gail Mancuso's A Dog's Journey is a realistic and a heartwarming take on the relationship between man and man's best friend (aka dogs).
In A Dog's Journey, the sequel to the global hit, A Dog's Purpose, beloved dog Bailey finds his new destiny and forms an unbreakable bond that will lead him, and the people he loves, to places they never imagined.
By now, most of my followers already know that the first thing I search for in a movie is its message, its purpose. And luckily, A Dog's Journey has one of the best moral messages I've seen these past few months. Bailey, Molly, Big Dog, Max (all voiced by the hilarious Josh Gad), deep down all symbolizes one thing : perseverance. We are in a constant search of a meaning to our lives, of a purpose, something that makes our lives worthwhile. If we are lucky enough to find that thing, we go over and beyond to keep it and protect it. And this is what A Dog's Journey stands for : never let go of what makes your heart race, of what makes your whole existence meaningful. I believe this is a message both kids and adults will find pretty inspiring.
In addition, while the plot was clearly predictable and didn't expand beyond its predecessor' material, it was in a way kind of interesting. As a dog lover myself, I found it both realistic and amusing. Mancuso sure knew how to portray a bond found between a man and his dog in the purest most hilarious way possible.
Furthermore, this movie had an overall emotional tone, more specifically the third act. Even the coldest of hearts, wont be able to hold himself from tearing a little bit.
But as much as I enjoyed it, A Dog's Journey also contained some flaws.
For starters, the pace was all over the place, too slow in some parts and too fast in others. This did confuse things and made the movie slightly less enjoyable.
Plus, some performances felt a little forced or distanced. For example Belly Gilpin' performance was totally intolerable. But on the bright side, Denis Quaid, Kathryn Prescott and Harry Lau delivered some real and heartwarming performances which I totally loved.
I also want to mention that this film had an amazing color palette, each scene glowed fantastically and somehow represented a certain emotion. When the characters were cheerful, the scenes were lit up and on the contrary when the characters were feeling down, the Color palette was rather pale and dark.
In the end, A Dog's Journey is a simple family movie that all dog lovers will definitely enjoy.
Connect with Francesco Bakhos - 365 Movies Lebanon
InstagramView other reviews by Francesco Bakhos - 365 Movies Lebanon