Dog movies have not been too great the past few years (e.g. A Dog's Purpose and Max). I mean, they completely abandon the spirit of how a dog would change a human's life by setting up the storyline as a front for an adventure. Nobody would want to watch a dog die and reincarnated repeatedly or a gun story that is rehashed from an Oliver Stone film that inappropriately belonged in a children's movie. However, you can take a true story and form how dogs work in the Army and then incorporate the story into a "girl and her dog" story that makes sense. This is a straight-forward true story that combines the dangers of war and PTSD and somehow circles back into a sweet tale that is inspiring and crowd-pleasing.
Megan Leavey (Kate Mara) is a trouble-making teenager living in upstate New York. Her best friend's death prompts her to enlist in the Marines and abandon her life and difficult mother (Edie Falco). After barely passing her basic training, she is assigned to Camp Pendleton. She gets punished by assigning to clean the cages of the K-9 bomb detectors. She enjoys hanging out with the dogs but she gets intimated by a German shepherd named Rex. Gunnery Sergeant Martin (Common), the head of the K-9 unit, tells Megan that she should be a dog handler.
Months go by and because his handler is injured, Megan is assigned to Rex. She has only a short time to bond with him since they are going to be deployed in Iraq soon. Rex does not obey her commands initially. But, the bond starts to get better as Megan, as the only woman in the army, lets Rex sleep in her quarters. As the K-9 unit is in Iraq, Megan and Rex are assigned to missions with the Marines. They start to sniff out a lot of IEDs and other weapons, that save many Marines. However, in another mission, they both get injured.
If you're an animal lover, this is the treat for you as it commends both bravery and honesty in its story surrounding and a soldier and her companion on the battlefield. This movie is what Max wished to have been. This movie is not anything too special as the movie as a whole is a guide to how a connection between a dog and a girl would work especially in the army. However, it adds another layer into the story as PTSD comes into the picture as she is suffering due to the blast in addition to the news that Rex is going back into the army. It is sad but not in an unconventional way but you root for Megan to want to get her dog back.
Kate Mara has given her strongest performance on-screen in a long time. Based on her performance alone in the movie, she should get more leading roles in dramas with characters that is more driven to situations that could create some complications. Common is solid in this and Ramon Rodriguez as the soldier boyfriend is quite committed. Director Gabriela Cowperthwaithe refuses to insert sentimental manipulation into the scenes that could have easily been corny and too melodramatic but the emotional balance is just right. There could have been a much better approach to the story itself. Nevertheless, it's the performance by Kate Mara and the dog that drives its way home. It's a good movie.
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