Red Dog: True Blue by Daniel Taplitz - Nine out of 10

Red Dog: True Blue by Daniel Taplitz

Nine out of 10

Yes there is something corny, and we get a sense of déjà vu when we see yet another motion picture with a dog at the center…there is the quintessential classic, The Call of the Wild, written by Jack London, which has recently seen another adaptation – number 67? – with Harrison Ford in the supporting role, for the Dog has the attention of the audiences http://realini.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-call-of-wild-by-jack-london-another.html

Nevertheless, this story of this animal that is an Australian legend is emotional – just like Michael Carter aka Jason Isaacs – we may feel tears coming down our cheeks, and captivating, especially if you love dogs and are able to appreciate excellence e and beauty, which mark this splendid pet that would go to the ends of the world, in search of his worshipped master, friend and companion, young Carter in this case…

As a boy, Michael Carter has to live with his grandfather, portrayed by another Australian icon, Bryan Brown, seen in many outstanding motion pictures, such as Breaker Morant - http://realini.blogspot.com/2019/02/breaker-morant-based-on-play-by-kenneth.html

However, the film starts with the boy hero – there is a dog hero and arguably the canine gets more attention – as an adult, told by his wife, when he arrives home, that he has to get the boys to the movies, as he had promised and that he has also pledged to get them a dog…something he is doubtful of…

As he is watching a film with…Red Dog, in the cinema theater, the grown man starts crying and he would eventually tell his elder son, once they get back home, that Red dog is based on his own Blue and this is when we get back to the farm, the majestic horse, the fires of Australia which touch such a sore wound now that they have had a terrible season this year when they say that about one billion animals have died in the catastrophic fires…

Michael finds a puppy dog and sleeps with him in the house, but the master of the home says that he will talk with the neighbor that has the mother of the puppy to keep him, on condition that this animal does not sleep inside…which makes the boy take his sheets and lie with his new friend outside, on the porch…

When others mock the fact that the four legged does not do any tricks, the human hero is somewhat ashamed and starts trying to show his friend what to do, rolling over, doing funny postures for the canine to repeat…

It is clear soon that Red dog – who is named Blue, has tremendous capacities, demonstrated in the game wherein the human hides a ball, all the way to the top of the house, only to see his companion get to it in a couple of seconds…

Surely, the most impressive characteristic of the Animal Hero is his loyalty…others know so well that he is so devoted to his human companion that they cannot touch him without serious, perhaps devastating consequences…

One thing that this viewer disliked was the fact that Michael kept driving on his motorcycle and had the pet running after him, which seemed entertaining and remarkable to a degree, but it is also clear that the animal would have had immense trouble in keeping up with this and later with a helicopter in which his beloved master would travel

Indeed, for that helicopter ride, they surely must have guessed that the worshipping Blue would start a run for it and thus endanger his life and should have taken measures to prevent him…though the consequences might have been just as devastating, for there are so many stories with dogs that languish and many die when their best friends, the humans, abandon them, expire in their turn or just have to move…