I was recommended to watch "A Dog's Purpose" as it was allegedly a very emotional and touching story. So with that in mind, I tracked down the 2017 movie and gave it a go.
Right, well I must say that I am somewhat conflicted as to what to think of the movie. On one hand it was an emotional movie, true. And yeah, it is a movie that will have the audience in tears, no doubt about that. But on the other hand, then I feel that the part of having the movie broken down into segments, with the dog returning to live different lives was sort of strange, and the two middle segments where the dog returned as a police dog and a pet to a lonely woman was fully and wholeheartedly there solely as serving as filling for the movie being able to pass as a feature length movie. These two segments served absolutely no purpose to the story, as the heart of the story was the bond and connection between the dog Bailey and its owner Ethan.
The voice over for the dog really worked quite well, because it was done rather nicely, without keeping it sappy or as a comedy aspect. It really helped bring the dog Bailey to life on the screen and gave it so much more personality and made it all the more lovable and easy to bond with the dog.
The acting in the movie was good, and it was especially K.J. Apa (playing teenaged Ethan) and Dennis Quaid (playing adult Ethan) whom carried the movie with their performances. But the dogs really stole the show, especially the two dogs that were around the Ethan characters in the various stages of his life.
"A Dog's Purpose" is definitely a family movie, and one that is quite worth taking the time to sit down and watch. Just ensure that you have to tissue within reach, because this is a tearjerker of a movie. I am rating the movie 7 out of 10 stars because this is the type of movie that hits straight to the center of the heart and stays with you.
