This Heart of the Beast review says Brad Pitt and his trusty dog Odin are an irresistible team, and Rocky the Canine Critic agrees.

Whether you see it as manipulative or masterful, Heart of the Beast knows exactly where your soft spot is and leans into it with pure intent. Even if you think of dogs as shedding roommates with strong opinions about Amazon deliveries, you’ll be moved to your core.

Special Forces officer James Belmont (Brad Pitt) and his combat dog Odin fly their own seaplane to a remote area in the Alaskan wilderness for a little R & R and a lot of beer. Their aircraft crashes in a storm, and, severely wounded, they’re forced to cross more than 50 miles of isolated, dangerous terrain to return to civilization and safety.

A man, a dog, the elements, a long walk home: you’ve seen this movie before, or so you think. If you believe you know where this story is headed, you’re probably wrong. Director David Ayer worked from a Cameron Alexander script that has a few tricks up its shaggy sleeve.

Pitt is as good as ever as Belmont, a grizzled loner who has sacrificed just about everything for his country, except his combat dog Odin. It’s Pitt’s second collaboration with Ayer, after Fury, and he does what he does best: says little and endures much.

And yet, Pitt is but a supporting player to his canine co-star. Pitt gives the frame away generously, which is smart, because it’s always about the dog. We can see a dozen people meet their bloody demise, but it’s the dog that evokes our sympathy and tears.

And this dog actor really earns his biscuits. Odin is played by Uber a German Shepherd bred from a New Zealand law-enforcement and military line, making his acting debut.

But Uber didn’t do it alone. Four dogs were used in the production: Uber plus his three sons, with Uber as the primary Odin. Those sons are named Seeka, Ryker and Hondo, and according to GQ, they played Odin’s puppy scenes.

The dogs were trained by animal coordinator Andrew Simpson, whose credits include John Wick, Game of Thrones and The Revenant. He and his team spent five weeks preparing the dogs, then three more working alongside Pitt.

In addition to the canine performances, the scenery is spectacular. New Zealand stands in for Alaska, with Mauro Fiore’s cinematography capturing mountains and forests so vast they make the humans look like afterthoughts. I could see why Pitt’s character wanted to get lost in it…until he didn’t.

Aside from the dogs, the other animals were a bit of a letdown, and this is the film’s major flaw. After the crash, our heroes are set upon by a bear and a pack of night stalkers, wolves if the trailer is to be believed, though the murk left me squinting.

Every one of them looks digital, and not in a good way. They dragged me right out of the movie at the moment it most needed me in. The tragedy is that we know how it can be done. The Revenant’s grizzly was also computer-generated, but a stuntman in a blue bear suit gave the actors something physical to react to, and the camera never cut away.

Here the bear never makes real contact with anyone, and that contact, or real threat thereof, is what sells a digital creature. The film is too full of heart to be sunk by it, but it hurts.

So my advice for seeing Heart of the Beast is to bring tissues — my friend and I sniffled and shed tears throughout the film. Forgive the fake bear and wolves. Odin is worth it.

Canine Critic Rocky’s Heart of the Beast review

A man and his very good boy crash in the Alaskan wilderness and have to go on a brutal hike home. I’ve never been so invested in a walk!

I’m just a labradoodle puppy, but I know a top dog when I see one, and Uber as Odin is the most fur-midable performance of the year. That loyalty! That soulful stare! That commitment to the bit, even with a prosthetic leg!

Uber is pure tail-ent, and if the Barkademy doesn’t come calling, somebody’s barking up the wrong tree. I’d follow this leading man anywhere, preferably on a leash and with treats. I’m still howling about it.

🐾 Rocky Amaze Salvador de Las Vegas, Canine Critic

Rated PG-13

1 Hour 41 Minutes

If this Heart of the Beast review encourages you to trot on over to the cineplex, find times and tickets at Fandango.com.

This Heart of the Beast review says Brad Pitt and his trusty dog Odin are an irresistible team, and Rocky the Canine Critic agrees.