THINK LIKE A DOG (NETFLIX)

SYNOPSIS: Josh Duhamel and Megan Fox star in this whimsical family comedy about a boy and his dog, and a science project that will change all of their lives forever. Think Like a Dog follows 12-year-old Oliver, a tech prodigy whose middle-school science fair experiment goes awry, creating a telepathic connection between him and his furry friend, Henry. The bond brings Oliver and Henry even closer as they join forces to comically overcome complications at school, and help Oliver’s parents rekindle their marriage along the way.

MOVIE REVIEW:

What? Another dog movie? You must be kidding me. Dog movies it seems are kind of an evergreen thing in Hollywood so much so you can always find a new one round the corner.

Netflix’s Think Like A Dog revolves around a young tech genius, Oliver and his dog named Henry. Oliver managed to form a telepathic connection with Henry after an experiment went wrong. But Oliver’s latest gadget caught the attention of an evil technological head, Mills (Kunal Nayyar from The Big Bang Theory) who wanted the equipment for his own use. At the same time, Oliver’s parents (played by Transformers alumni Josh Duhamel and Megan Fox) are facing marital issues and it’s up to Henry to dispense some family and love advice to Oliver to help resolve the thorny issues in his life.

It’s a shame that Gil Junger, the man behind 10 Things I Hate About You wrote and directed Think Like A Dog. You will think there’s more to a dog comedy besides a few fart jokes, a one-dimensional villain and touch-and-go adult problems. Likely to please the Chinese backers, there’s even a subplot involving a Chinese hacker and operative agents investigating the hacking of a satellite.

The script is so busy going from one character to another and from one location to another (a handful of sequences shot in Beijing) that the tone is all over the place. Despite having relatively big names in the cast, Josh Duhamel and Megan Fox didn’t even have much chance to convince audiences about their failing marriage before expectedly reconcile in the end. If Junger could have make it more down-to-earth and the narrative simpler, this family movie would have been much more enjoyable and satisfied.

Still, younger kids will appreciate the quirky relationship between Oliver and his best friend, their amusing bantering or Oliver’s shyness towards his crush. There’s an obligatory scene of having different breed of dogs led by Henry running heroically towards the camera. Consider it job well done. It’s overall a mediocre adventure action comedy for the entire family who ran out of kid-friendly titles on the streaming giant.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee



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