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Overwrought, underwhelming: Rashid Irani reviews A Dog’s Journey
A faithful pet is reincarnated over and over so he can watch over his original owner’s grandchild. Not the most compelling tale, not compellingly told.
Not to be confused with A Dog’s Way Home, which was released here earlier this month, this similar-sounding emotionally manipulative canine-centered adventure is actually a sequel to the 2017 tearjerker, A Dog’s Purpose. Interestingly, all three films are derived from novels by W Bruce Cameron.
Expanding upon the original’s theme of canine reincarnation, incoming director Gail Mancuso ensures that the ‘boss dog’ protagonist, a golden retriever named Bailey, fulfils his promise to protect his owner’s granddaughter throughout her life.
In order to do so, he is reborn several times, each time as a new breed (once a beagle/spaniel mix, once a Corgi etc), all of whose thoughts are vocalised by Josh Gad. The loyal pet even helps the eventually teenaged girl (Kathryn Prescott) choose a suitable life companion.
The tale comes full circle in a predictably contrived subplot involving a cancer-stricken childhood friend, and the whole thing is silly rather than stirring. Melodramatic flourishes such as a fraught mother-daughter relationship drag the flagging momentum down further.
While the human actors, among them Dennis Quaid, are adequate, the real stars of the show are, paws-down, the cherishable pooches. It’s still not enough to rescue the film, but three woofs to them!
