Coming off the heels of semi-positively reviewed Gladiator II, I was particularly curious what Ridley Scott would do next and who would be involved. Then he signed on buzzy (and extremely tall) Hollywood star Jacob Elordi for his new apocalyptic movie The Dog Stars and my curiosity piqued. Unfortunately, it’s starting to sound like bad news for The Dog Stars, but perhaps less bad for Elordi himself? Let’s take a look.
The Dog Stars is coming from Disney, and wasn’t being screened particularly widely, so most of us at CinemaBlend haven’t seen the movie yet. A few critics have though, and reviews are decidedly mixed to outright unenthusiastic. It’s currently running at a paltry 38% on Rotten Tomatoes, but again, a lot of us haven’t had the chance to see the movie yet. At the time of this writing, there are fewer than 100 reviews.
My favorite review line, and the one that’s probably the most mixed in general, is this one from Matt Singer at ScreenCrush:
Attractive as the rest of the movie is around them, Scott’s direction feels a little by-the-numbers at times too. It works out to a film that’s a little better than you might expect from something released on the last Friday in August, and one that’s a little worse than you might expect from the man who made Alien, Blade Runner, and The Martian.
Lots of people are pointing out Ridley Scott’s latest is basically fine enough for a movie coming out in late August when there’s not a ton of box office competition, unless you’re counting leftovers like The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. It’s low-key a really insulting thing to say about a movie from such a storied director, and Variety’s Guy Lodge really drives the point home.
Somewhat aptly released at the tail end of a long, loud movie summer, this is a surprisingly low-energy, low-incident blockbuster; you’d appreciate its mellow, character-oriented approach if it gave you any real characters to hold onto.
That reads like a middling take at first glance, but upon deeper consideration, it’s actually brutal.
What’s Bad News For Ridley May Be Good News For Elordi
While there's still plenty of time for more reviews to come down the pipeline, and lot of people seem to generally think The Dog Stars is fine enough for what it is, what we have right now is a crowd that is generally unenthusiastic about where this movie is going at the box office. Despite this, some critics are resoundingly positive about Jacob Elordi.
This was true when the first trailer for The Dog Stars dropped and has remained true as people have begun seeing the new 2026 movie release. In fact, I was particularly enthusiastic seeing THR compare him to “a young Kevin Costner.” Like specifically Costner, not an actor like Costner, and specifically Costner in his heyday.
In keeping with the throwback feel, Jacob Elordi leads with introspective movie-star magnetism that evokes the heyday of Kevin Costner, while cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt’s panoramic vistas — locations in Italy’s Alpine foothills and the mountains of the Abruzzo and Lazio regions are majestic stand-ins for Colorado — lend the unhurried but engrossing story a restorative grace.
That’s a thumbs up for Elordi. And that outlet is not the only one that is positive. The Telegraph called him “gently dashing” and Roger Ebert’s site calls him “earnest.”
The New York Post had my favorite Elordi role comparison, nodding at Euphoria and Frankenstein before mentioning what these roles for the actor all have in common. He’s good though, guys!
Manly-ish sensitivity is both Elordi’s forte and also the answer to the question, 'What does an airborne widower have in common with Frankenstein’s monster and Heathcliff?' The Aussie actor is good here, as usual, wielding a downcast charm like a cafeteria loner who could also get crowned Prom King.
Josh Brolin, who generally always does solid work, and is occasionally one of the biggest stars in the world, is getting some attaboys around the critical sphere, too. However, I had high hopes for Jacob Elordi in this role, and it’s nice to see many of the reviews spotlighting the young actor. It makes me feel like more cool things are on the horizon, whether or not The Dog Stars makes a splash. Anyone say James Bond?
