Review: A Dog’s Journey

A Dog’s Journey opened on May 17, 2019. The Amblin family film was directed by Gail Mancuso. A Dog’s Journey starred Josh Gad, Dennis Quaid and Kathryn Prescott.

Synopsis:

Bailey (voiced Josh Gad), a dog with a heart of gold, keeps getting reincarnated to protect his family. His owner and friend, Ethan (Dennis Quaid), asks Bailey to protect his granddaughter at all costs. Bailey pops in and out of the girl’s life, in many different canine forms, to help her reach her full potential.

Positives:

• A Dog’s Journey features a deeper and more emotional storyline than you would imagine before watching it. The film takes itself seriously, and that is refreshing in a family film of this kind.

• The performances from the talented cast are sincere and do a good job of balancing sentiment with earnest emotions. The actors never allow the material to become too saccharine.

• The film moves at a nice pace and never gets too slow or boring.

Negatives:

• A Dog’s Journey often feels manipulative. There are a lot of tear-jerking moments – but they feel forced and easy at times.

• The heart of the story, Bailey constantly being reincarnated, forces the film to be predictable. You always feel like you are a few steps ahead of the story.

• Josh Gad’s voice over work at times feels out of place. Overall he does a nice job, but his voice performance is inconsistent.

In Closing:

A Dog’s Journey is basically a harmless film. It glosses over some heavy subject matter and never becomes something the entire family can’t enjoy. It’s far from a perfect film, but I don’t think anyone will regret watching it from the comfort of their home.

Rating: C