Former U.S. Army Ranger Briggs (Channing Tatum) is desperate to be given medical clearance to be able to return to service as a private military contractor. His Captain is loathe to give him the all clear though given the brain injury he suffered as a Ranger. So a deal is struck. If Briggs can take his deceased team mate’s service dog across country in time for his funeral then his Captain will give him the all clear. 

The question you have to ask yourself about Dog is; Do you want to see Channing Tatum in a bath with a dog and see Tatum topless fairly regularly? If the answer is yes, feel free to skip over to your local cinema’s website and book yourself tickets now. But in all seriousness Dog is actually an entertaining romp that has some light comedy mixed in with smatterings of a serious message as well. All wrapped up with the charisma of Tatum and a dog (actually played by three different dogs but do not let me spoil the illusion). 

This is a road movie where the two protagonists initially do not get on and in time will learn to love each other. They also have a fairly relaxed deadline to be somewhere in order to give some sense of urgency. This allows the film to jump through a series of vignettes that range from comical, dramatic and heartwarming. 

At its craziest it features an interlude where Tatum pretends to be blind to get a free hotel room that could easily have been pulled from a Richard Pryor / Gene Wilder comedy from the 1980’s. Whilst at its most seriousness it attempts to discuss the impact of PTSD on veterans and how dogs can provide therapy. 

Destined to be a family favourite in the homes of “dog” people.