‘Dog’, the 2022 comedy-drama directed by Channing Tatum and Reid Carolin, follows former Army Ranger Briggs (played by Tatum) as he embarks on a life-changing road trip with Lulu, a military working dog. Briggs is tasked with driving Lulu from Washington state to Arizona in time for her handler Private First Class Riley Rodriguez’s funeral.
1. Military History of Briggs
Briggs, who is suffering from PTSD and a traumatic brain injury from his time in service, is initially resistant to the assignment. However, his commanding officer promises to help him get reinstated for active duty if he completes this one task. What Briggs doesn’t anticipate is how bonded he would become with Lulu over their journey together.
2. What Does Briggs Find Common Between Him and Lulu?
At first, Briggs and Lulu get off to a rocky start, with her escaping her travel crate and tearing up his seats. But after some mishaps and adventures on the road, including getting shot by a tranquilizer gun and taking refuge in a kind stranger’s home, the two start to understand each other better.
We learn through flashbacks and Riley’s journal entries that Lulu has undergone trauma of her own, having been deployed on dangerous missions and even getting shot on duty. Briggs comes to recognize their shared pain and Lulu’s loving spirit beneath her aggression.
3. Briggs and Lulu At the Funeral
After many hijinks and bonding moments, Briggs and Lulu finally make it to the funeral, just in the nick of time. We see Lulu calmly and solemnly sitting by Riley’s grave, paying tribute to her beloved former handler.
4. Briggs Decision At The End: Ending Explained
With the funeral complete, Briggs is supposed to drive Lulu to the army base where she will be put down, as she has been deemed too aggressive for adoption or retraining. However, after their journey together, Briggs decides he cannot go through with it.
5. Does Lulu Get Put Down?
In the final scene, Briggs officially adopts Lulu. We hear him narrating a poem in voiceover, expressing how Lulu has changed his life for the better and given him purpose again.
He fills out adoption paperwork and takes Lulu to live with him. The ending scene shows Briggs and Lulu sitting together on a cliff overlooking the ocean.
6. Is ‘Dog’ (2022) Worth Watching?
Criticisms include the misleading trailers that portray it as a light buddy comedy when it has serious moments, the fluffy/filler scenes that distract from the main story, and issues around the depiction of violence.
Overall though, we recommend ‘Dog’ as an emotional redemption story with uplifting messages about the human-animal bond. It exceeds expectations and earns its feel-good ending. With Tatum’s charisma, the story comes together to be a crowd-pleasing, tear-jerking movie for dog lovers.
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‘Dog’ highlights the mental health impacts of war and the importance of forging connections to overcome hardship. It speaks to the power of animals to help humans heal emotionally. In the end, Briggs and Lulu save each other – she from being put down, and he from himself. Their loyalty and affection for one another is mutually redemptive.
