Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

DogMan Blu-ray Movie Review

"At the end of the day, I'm just a puppet at the end of a string."

Reviewed by Justin Dekker June 28, 2024

Acclaimed director Luc Besson's ('La Femme Nikita', 'The Professional', 'The Fifth Element') 'DogMan' makes its US Blu-ray debut courtesy of Universal. The film's small human cast is headlined by Caleb Landry Jones ('X-Men: First Class', 'Finch', 'Get Out') as the titular DogMan and also features Jojo T. Gibbs (Evelyn - 'Fresh', 'Civil War') in a solid supporting performance. This release features an excellent 1080p transfer and an outstanding English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track, but is unfortunately devoid of any supplemental content. A slipcover is not included, nor is a DVD or Digital Code.

Most pet owners have, at one point or another, wished that there was a way to communicate more effectively with their pets, beyond just issuing simple commands or understanding what certain behaviors mean. An entire industry has sprung up around this very concept with classes to take, products and books to buy, and even television shows to watch as poor behavior is demystified and eliminated and new, more acceptable behaviors are established and reinforced. But even the best of these classes and programs cannot deliver results on par with the uncanny way in which DogMan's Douglas (Caleb Landry Jones) can communicate with any dog under his care. While this type of pseudo-superpower may be more at home in DC's The Legion of Substitute Heroes, instead a far future populated by Superboy, Saturn Girl, and Lightning Lad, DogMan can be found in modern-day New Jersey.

Things have gone very wrong for Douglas. He's exhausted, bloody, and unable to flee his vehicle as the police close in, puffing on a cigarette with what seems to be the very last ounce of energy he possesses. In the back of his truck, an uncountable number of dogs sit at attention. And so the viewer questions, "How did he end up here?", expecting a dramatic and action packed tale to unfold and fill in all of the blanks.

Douglas is taken to a holding room to be evaluated by Evelyn (Jojo T. Gibbs). As he explains his current situation and how he got here, his story plays out in a series of flashbacks. Putting things in roughly chronological order, we find Douglas grew up in home with an abusive father, and older brother who idolized and imitated the man, and a timid mother. Douglas' only friends were the dogs his father kept for dog fights and systematically abused. After he is discovered feeding the dogs against his father's will, Douglas admits he loves the dogs more than his human family, raising the ire of his father who promptly locks him in the backyard kennel with the dogs for perpetuity. While his bond with the dogs is undeniable, so too is the neglect and abuse he's subjected to as he grows filthier and more unwell with each passing day. After his mother runs away, a tragic series of events results in Douglas nearly being paralyzed, but he is able to use his connection with one of the dogs to flee from the cage and bring back the police to rescue him. Placed into the foster care system, the wheelchair-bound Douglas develops a taste for theater, especially Shakespeare, and his love for dogs continues unabated.

As an adult, Douglas works in a dog shelter and he's happy for a time, despite dwindling resources. When the shelter is about to be shut down by the state, he brings all of the dogs under his care to a new home in an abandoned school. To make ends meet, he uses his dogs to enter the homes of the wealthy and steal all manner of jewelry and other small items of value. Also seeking out legitimate employment, after a series of rejections for all manner of jobs, he finally lands a position as a drag performer one night a week. When he is forced to pivot away from using his dogs to steal, he begins using them to fight back against those oppressing the powerless in his community.

Besson's DogMan has the potential to deliver some impressive and inventive action sequences given Douglas' disability and the expansive canine cast. Despite his ability to unerringly control his dogs the number and duration of sequences where the dogs can show off their skills is sadly limited. While the animals in question do not talk here, those looking for numerous and extended scenes of animalistic derring-do are better served seeing films like Cats & Dogs (2001) or the more recent Strays (2023). Admittedly these are wildly different films than DogMan but for a film that, to some degree promises to use dogs to deliver a certain amount of action, it drastically underdelivers.

As a character study, the film also comes up short of the mark. Besson has shown some aptitude for telling very human stories coupled with violent and unbelievable elements. Besson's 1990 landmark film La Femme Nikita does a much more effective and cohesive job detailing the story of a young woman and her transformation from a violent addict into a highly skilled government assassin. As she makes her transition into this new deadly role which she must keep performing in order to stay alive, Nikita, played to perfection by Anne Parillaud, is humanized and the new situation is as untenable and seemingly inescapable as her previous one. In the midst of this very human drama, frequent bouts of violence routinely punctuate the story, not only to inject energy into the film but also to grimly and graphically remind the viewer of the consistent hopelessness of her existence.

Rather than being content to simply tell one man's tale, Besson's DogMan wants to take on a variety of issues, and this ultimately proves to be another part of the film's undoing, both by virtue of the number he confronts and how he chooses to do it. Douglas spends much of the film talking to Evelyn in the holding cell where he regurgitates overused soundbites concerning the justice system, the unequal distribution of wealth, and intolerance for different lifestyles. Throughout the film, there are also some not-so-subtle jabs at Christianity, where a number of heinous acts are perpetrated on Douglas by one who thinks himself holy and does not believe Douglas is doing right in the eyes of God, a theme that carries through the film into its final moments. But all of this messaging comes at a price. The discussions and flashbacks do not serve to properly humanize Douglas, a man who clearly suffered some horrific trauma in his youth. Instead, all of Douglas' slogans and posturing feel shoehorned in and forced, serving to frustrate any attempt to generate sympathy for him. In another film, one might find the types of overused statements and arguments as a mere smokescreen to confound an interviewer and mask the subject's true motives and intents, forcing the interviewer to dig for the truth. Here, though, as worn out as Douglas' thoughts are, they are truly as shallow as they appear to be. Action is also a victim of the ongoing dialogue and flashbacks of miseries past. The longer Douglas talks and the more he tries to justify his position and his behaviors, the less time is available for him and his dogs to do what they do, either larcenous, bloody, or both. Ultimately, a film that showed us more and told us less would have been much more engaging.

The holding cell interview framework of the film is also problematic. Most of Evelyn's questions are fairly basic, starting with innocuous questions about Douglas' childhood and progressing with very simple follow-ups, such as asking if he ever saw a childhood friend again, querying how he made money once he left the animal shelter, and so on. Questions are never used to establish his mental health history, current mental status, potential chemical dependency issues, and other topics that are relatively standard in these types of evaluations. It never seems formal. Instead, these conversations, with their simple questions and unchallenged answers would be far more suited to a different setting, such as a seedy bar late at night, where a Douglas who knows he's at the end of his run is content to tell his story to a haggard bartender before making a final stand. One must therefore assume that Besson wants the police station setting to add to the tension and elevate Douglas' stakes. However, at no time does Douglas actually seem to be stressed or in jeopardy. Guards are only present to let Evelyn in and out, and while we can assemble our own list of Douglas' crimes, we never are given a clear understanding of what he is to be charged with and how long of prison sentence he could potentially face. The cell is sterile but spacious and reasonably comfortable. While logically the viewer knows Douglas is in trouble, it never feels that way, and one could almost believe Douglas could just simply leave whenever he chooses. Throughout it all, Douglas stoically sits and tells his story, without so much as a tear shed, a fist pounded, or a voice raised.

DogMan Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

DogMan's UK release from Altitude Film Distribution received top marks from my colleague Dr. Svet Atanasov in his review of that title from March of 2024, you can read about that disc here. While I do not have that disc, the results achieved here are equally fantastic. Much of DogMan is set in some spectacularly decrepit and filthy locations, from the backyard dog kennel, to the animal shelter, and the abandoned school where Douglas eventually sets up shop. Thanks to a transfer that is delightfully rich in detail, viewers are privy to every grimy environmental and costuming particular. In the kennel where he is housed as a child, there is ample opportunity to examine his repugnant and tattered clothing, his dirt-caked face, and his matted hair. The used wire fencing and aged and rotting boards have a remarkably tactile presence. So too do the cinder blocks in the holding cell where Douglas and Evelyn have their conversations. Every imperfection in the blocks and texture created by layers of paint is wonderfully realistic. Skin tones are natural and healthy and blacks are deep and inky and never seem to absorb detail. While largely gritty and bleak, the costumes of the drag performers provide opportunities for primaries to pop even though they are rarely present or allowed to do so elsewhere. Colors are nicely saturated and transfer is free from defects or anomalies. It's an excellent transfer.

DogMan Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track is impressive and consistently enjoyable. It is typically very immersive, sometimes subtly but other times, such as the thunder when Douglas' brother was released from jail, are much more dramatic. Another particular sonic highlight is the confrontation which results in Douglas' capture at the beginning of the film. Surrounds are used to excellent effect to put the viewer perfectly in the middle of the action, whether it be gunshots, other sound effects, or ambient music. Music is rendered with great precision and is allowed to dominate the sound field on more than one occasion. The bass level never disappoints providing excellent depth to each track, and to every act of violence. Dialogue is always clear and understandable, and the numerous dog barks are realistically reproduced as well. It's an impressive track. English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles are also available.

DogMan Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Universal's release of DogMan does not have any supplemental material.

DogMan Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Luc Besson has helmed a number of films I'd argue are modern classics, but unfortunately DogMan is not exactly "best in show". By the film's end the viewer understands exactly how Douglas came to be arrested, battered and bloody behind the wheel of a truck full of dogs, but the tale of how he got there just simply doesn't add up to that dramatic opening. A unique idea that had potential is bogged down with too many instances of trite messaging and a framework that removes virtually all of the needed tension and keeps action to a bare minimum. While it is entertaining to observe the dogs' incredible skill and behavior they are not deployed often enough to properly invigorate what is a very calm, reserved, and dialogue-heavy picture. Besson's die-hard fans will no doubt be excited to pick this one up and they will no doubt be enamored with its stellar 1080p presentation and wonderful audio track, but all others should proceed with caution.