The Dog Stars may not be perfect, but its message about hope after the apocalypse hits hard

The Dog Stars is not just another post-apocalyptic movie about people trying to save themselves. Ridley Scott’s film is about Hig, played by Jacob Elordi. Years after a deadly pandemic changed the world beyond recognition, Hig is left with very little from the life he once knew.

Hig now lives with his dog Jasper and his tough, heavily armed companion Bangley at an old airstrip. This is a place where you have no choice but to keep enough supplies to keep yourself safe. Yet, Hig hasn't transformed into a ruhless man like the others in the world.

He still carries the loss of his wife and child, and that grief makes his decision to chase a mysterious radio signal feel more personal than practical. When the possibility of finding other survivors appears, Hig sees a chance that life might still hold something beyond isolation.

As his journey continues, Hig meets a young woman named Cima who works as a medic. Cima is troubled by her own losses and when she crosses paths with Hig, there's finally a little change to their lives.

This means that The Dog Star is a film that has its share of action and familiar survival elements. However, the strongest idea is much simpler: even after losing almost everything, people can still find a reason to care again.

Want to know more about this Jacob Elordi movie? Read below!

The Dog Stars is less interested in the apocalypse than in what comes after it

The Dog Stars is set in the year 2035, as the story begins after a deadly pandemic has killed most of the humans in the world. At the heart of the movie is Elordi's Hig, who has lost his family and is only left with his dog Jasper and Bangley, who happens to be a former Marine.

One thing to note about Bangley is that he believes that weapons are more important than people. Hig had a wife named Melissa and a child, but unlike Bangley, he has not completely shut himself off. He flies his old Cessna for supplies and helps a nearby community to keep a connection with other survivors of the apocalypse.

Things change when Hig picks up a radio signal that could mean survivors are living near Grand Junction. He follows it despite Bangley’s warnings and eventually meets Cima, a medic, and her father Pops. Cima has her own painful past, which helps the two understand each other.

As Hig and Cima grow closer in The Dog Stars, the story becomes less about finding a safe place and more about finding someone worth coming home to. For Hig, that means allowing himself to care again after losing the people who once mattered most.

The Dog Stars' biggest strength is the hope between Hig and Cima

Jacob Elordi plays Hig (Image via X/@20thcentury)

The Dog Stars does not show Cima and Hig's relationship as a sudden romance in the story. They meet in a world where trusting anyone can be dangerous, so their bond grows slowly and they learn what people around them have suffered and what they're left with in this world.

At the same time, Japser is also very important in the story and the movie's titles also explain it. He is one of the few things left from Hig's old life, before the pandemic took his family and changed everything. Having Jasper around keeps that connection to the past alive.

Bangley, on the other side, has a very different approach to living. He believes that being armed, alert and ready for trouble, and the attacks on their home prove that his fears are not without reason. Still, the film shows that survival alone cannot give Hig the life he wants.

That is why Hig and Cima matter so much. Their relationship gives him a reason to look ahead instead of only thinking about what he has lost. Cima also brings her medical skills into the small community they begin building.

The future remains uncertain, with aircraft seen in the distance but no clear sign of help coming. The characters cannot bring the old world back, so they have to make something of what remains.

The Dog Stars has flaws, but they do not erase what it is trying to say

The movie is earning mixed reviews (Image via X/@20thcentury)

The Dog Stars is gaining mixed reactions, and that seems pretty fair, as some parts of the movie work better than the others. The slower pace might not sit well with some viewers, while others may find the story less gripping than expected from a Ridley Scott film.

The movie also uses ideas familiar to the post-apocalyptic genre like violent scavengers and a strange group Hig encounters in Grand Junction Allison Janney’s unusual role in the story also adds a kind of change that may feel out of place beside the quieter story.

Still, those issues do not take away from what The Dog Stars is trying to say. Hig's journey isn't just about fighting to stay alive. Instead, he is dealing with grief, loneliness and the pain of losing his family and then trying his best to trust someone again.

By the end of the movie. Hig, Cima and Pops return to the airstrip after their difficult journey, while Bangley survives an attack on their home. Yet, they couldn't find a perfect new world and finally start building a small life together.

Now this is where viewers will get to know a deep meaning behind the film: The old world may be gone, but Hig can still choose to care, love and help others. The Dog Stars may have its weak points, but its belief in hope after loss gives the story its real weight.