Ridley Scott’s ‘The Dog Stars’ Just Crash-Landed with One of His Lowest Rotten Tomatoes Scores Ever

Ridley Scott doesn’t slow down. At 87, the director behind ‘Alien,’ ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘Gladiator’ keeps chasing new genres, and this week he’s back in familiar territory with a bleak, near-future survival story.

‘The Dog Stars’ marks Scott’s first true post-apocalyptic feature, adapted from Peter Heller’s 2012 novel of the same name. The film follows Hig, a civilian pilot scraping by on an abandoned airbase after a devastating flu pandemic, and his uneasy alliance with a hardened military survivalist named Bangley.

Now that critics have finally weighed in, the reception isn’t the triumphant comeback some were hoping for. As of this week, ‘The Dog Stars’ sits at just 38% on the Tomatometer from 55 reviews, with the film’s Popcornmeter score still unavailable ahead of its wide theatrical release.

That places the movie among the more divisive entries in Scott’s decades-long career, with several outlets noting the score ranks close to some of his lowest-rated directorial efforts. Critics have been split on whether the film’s slower, character-driven approach works in its favor or drags the pacing down.

Collider’s review captured that divide directly, calling the movie an odd blend of tones. Writing for the outlet, critic Gabrielle Moss described the film as “an awkward marriage” between popcorn movies and sci-fi epics, a line that’s since been echoed across several other reviews.

Not every reaction has been negative, though. ScreenRant offered a more forgiving take, with the outlet’s own review acknowledging the story wasn’t groundbreaking but still finding real value in the execution. The site’s Jordan William called it “an entertaining, visually stunning ride with a refreshing focus on hope,” pointing to Scott’s visual craftsmanship as a saving grace even where the script stumbles.

That tension between “gorgeous but hollow” and “slow but sincere” seems to be the throughline across most reviews so far. Several critics have praised Jacob Elordi’s performance as Hig specifically, even when they weren’t sold on the film as a whole, suggesting the young actor’s turn may be the one element most audiences agree on.

Elordi leads an ensemble cast built around the kind of star power Scott usually assembles for his bigger swings. Josh Brolin plays Bangley, the gruff ex-Marine forced into partnership with Hig, while Margaret Qualley, Allison Janney and Benedict Wong round out the supporting roles in a story about what’s left of humanity once most of it is gone.

The plot kicks into motion when a mysterious radio transmission crackles through Hig’s aging Cessna, hinting that survivors, and maybe something resembling a normal life, exist somewhere beyond his tightly controlled perimeter. That signal sends him past the safety of his homestead and into a world he’s spent years avoiding.

It’s the kind of premise that’s become a genre staple in the years since ‘The Road’ and ‘The Last of Us’ reshaped what post-apocalyptic storytelling looks like on screen. Whether ‘The Dog Stars’ distinguishes itself within that crowded field, or simply blends into it, appears to be exactly what’s dividing critics right now.

Scott himself has been vocal in the lead-up to release about how personally he connects to this project, framing it as one of the more meaningful films he’s made in recent years. That kind of confidence from a director with his track record tends to raise expectations even higher, which may be part of why the mixed reviews have landed as a bit of a surprise.

‘The Dog Stars’ hits theaters on August 28, giving audiences the chance to decide for themselves whether this is an underrated gem buried under harsh reviews or a case where the critics got it right.

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