October 9, 2026 – This very intense man against nature movie has a very small cast of humans, but only two main characters, and one of them is a dog. The man is Brad Pitt (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”) and the German Shepherd dog, Odin, is played very well by Uber, Seeka, Ryker, and Hondo.

The other two characters who share a little screen time in the movie are Watkins (played by J.K. Simmons of “Whiplash”) and Amber (played by Anna Lambe of “The Social Reckoning”). Brad Pitt plays James Belmont, a retired soldier, camping out in the wilderness with Odin, a war dog that he served with overseas. Both man and dog share the physical and mental scars of battle.

Belmont, a pilot, flies his float plane into a remote Alaskan lake, where he camps out. He is unexpectedly joined by Watkins, who is traveling by canoe on the same lake. Belmont doesn't want company, but Watkins is amiable. He tells Belmont that a storm is coming, and that he will be departing early the next morning.

Belmont wakes up the next morning to find that Watkins had already gone, taking a beer and leaving behind a book with a passage marked out for Belmont and Odin. The passage reads, “He had survived the worst the world could do to him. He had known the cruelty of man, yet he lives … and the love of man had taken root in his heart.”

With the storm coming on, Belmont packs up and leaves. He and Odin take flight, but soon crash in the wilderness. They set out on a journey beset by difficulties to find civilization, encountering bears, wolves and treacherous terrain on their way. Both Belmont and Odin are injured but struggle heroically onward.

It is a rousing adventure story with some twists and turns. Flashback scenes emphasize the bond between Belmont and Odin, forged in combat. As the story unfolds, it becomes increasingly clear how deep that bond is between them. In a sense, it is a simple story, but it is emotionally complex and profound.

Both Brad Pitt and the dog actors give excellent performances in this movie. The wilderness, and the animals in it are more than the backdrop to this story, they are an essential element of it. Cinematographer Mauro Fiore (“Avatar”) makes good use of the magnificent outdoor locations. It was filmed in New Zealand, but it sure looks like Alaska. This movie rates a B.

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