The underdog is a good position for Channing Tatum. Despite being one of the most beloved himbos of Hollywood, thanks to his affable screen presence, up-for-anything attitude, and obviously, his good looks, it still feels like we, as a population, underestimate Tatum a bit, especially as he makes his directorial debut with “Dog.”
Tatum shares the director’s chair with frequent producing partner and “Magic Mike” and “Magic Mike XXL” writer Reid Carolin, who is also making his directorial debut. Carolin penned the script with Brett Rodriguez, about a former Army Ranger, Jackson Briggs (Tatum), who is tasked with delivering another veteran to the funeral of an Army buddy who has died in a car accident. The vet in question happens to be Lulu, a Purple Heart-decorated combat dog, a Belgian Malinois whose handler was Jackson’s pal Riley. Like Jackson, she’s riddled with bullet scars, emotional triggers and the residual effects of war trauma, and she’s no longer a useful asset to the Army. Jackson agrees to drive “dog” (as he refers to her) from Washington to Arizona in hopes of receiving a recommendation for a private security contractor gig, despite the lingering effects of a traumatic brain injury.
Tatum, Carolin and Rodriguez have been collaborating, and grappling with the effects of war, since Kimberly Peirce’s 2008 film “Stop-Loss,” in which Tatum co-starred, while Reid produced and Rodriguez served as a military consultant. The trio also produced the 2017 HBO documentary “War Dog: A Soldier’s Best Friend,” and so “Dog” feels like a natural culmination for this creative partnership. The amount of time that this project has been marinating, plus the informed understanding of PTSD, brain injuries and the role of the combat dog make for a film that effortlessly conveys these complex issues.
