'The Dog Stars' is introspective look at world's end

Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Peter Heller, "The Dog Stars" hit theaters with a bit of an underwhelming umph. This is one of the rare cases where the movie is better than its opening box office of roughly $8 million suggests. "The Dog Stars" is now available only in theaters. The year is 2035. Many years after a devastating virus that destroyed much of humanity and all the infrastructure associated with it, few survivors remain. Two of these survivors hold a small airfield with only a grass runway in Erie, Colorado, as their own private fortress. Hig (Jacob Elordi), along with his dog Jasper, flies a small Cessna 182 airplane to pick up supplies in the surrounding area and reconnoiter for any dangers approaching their isolated oasis in the Rocky Mountains. He's also a mechanic who can fix just about anything. Bangley (Josh Brolin) operates more as the muscle, though he also thinks he's much smarter than Hig. Once upon a time Bangley was a Marine, trained in all manner of weaponry and killing. He spends much of his day in a tower with his rifle and binoculars watching for threats. The few remaining people out there want what they have – resources and electricity and some sense of security. While flying his plane over the mountains to find what he hopes is some sense of civilization in Grand Junction, the plane suffers from a mechanical failure, smoke trailing out behind him. Hig makes an emergency landing in a less than ideal location. He lands near the homeplace of Cima (Margaret Qualley) and her father Pops (Guy Pearce).&emsp;&emsp;Cima and Pops have been living quite well on their own in a secluded valley and Pops is not happy to see any outsiders, including Hig. Cima feels a little differently. Hig and Cima bond over many things, but mainly their tragedies when the world fell apart. Maybe this kind of connection is what Hig was looking for all along. Many movies take beloved books and turn them into garbage. There are too many examples to list. That is not what we have here. The film is at the same time different from the book in many ways and very similar. The basic story of the book is in the movie. Both feature four people trying to survive a world ravaged by a virus. They are constantly fighting for survival, but also trying to find some meaning in the new life they are forced to live. The characters are roughly the same as the book. Hig is introspective and sympathetic, more willing to talk to outsiders than shoot them. Bangley is more of a shoot first and ask questions later type of guy, but he's not quite as ornery in the film as he is in the book. For the most part, Cima and Pops are similar to their characters in the book, though how they first greet Hig was changed. The differences between the book and the movie start with the sequence of events. Many scenes in the movie were in the book, but they are in a different order. The scene that was changed the most to make it more cinematic is what happens when they finally arrive at Grand Junction. It's a bit wild in the movie and doesn't go with the vibe of the story at all. The movie would have been better with the book version of Grand Junction. Maybe Ridley Scott was trying to add some energy to the film, something it was sorely lacking. Speaking of the vibe, the film manages to capture the bleakness of the book perfectly. The style in the book could be categorized as spare. Not a lot of dialogue, more introspection mixed with periods of intense action. That's exactly what you get with the film. In many ways it's a contemplative post-apocalyptic story. The scenery in the movie is beyond compare, though I was disappointed to learn that it was filmed in Italy instead of Colorado where the story is set. Hig spends a lot of his time in the air and the viewer is treated to many soaring shots of beautiful mountain vistas unspoiled by any human hands. It's breathtaking and is so much better if you see it on the big screen. "The Dog Stars" is a fairly faithful adaptation that is different from your usual the-world-has-ended-and-only-evil-remains film. Other than a few action scenes, it's a quiet and introspective look at the end of the world. Grade B+Rated R for strong violence and language. ••• Bradley Griffith is a local attorney and longtime film buff.&emsp;&emsp;