Search - War Dogs / Pride of the Army (1942) [Remastered Edition] on DVD

Lassie Does World War II

Bart | Montpellier, France | 11/14/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The problem with most war movies is that they are all the same.

Hollywood started the "war film formula" after World War I and up to and including Saving Private Ryan, it all seems to never change.

You always start out with a bunch of guys with different unique personality traits. They have a difficult task in front of them. Sometimes it's taking a hill, other times they have to save a prisoner or else they simply have to survive until help arrives.

No matter what the goal, it's all just an excuse to have a few of the cast members die, have one or two of them emerage as heros and to put a lot of flashing lights and explosions on the screen.

That's why I like War Dogs. Say what you will about it - it takes the War movie in a unique direction that I have not seen before or since.

The basic plot is similar to any and all Lassie episodes you have ever seen. A nice wholesome family has a dog that seems to be much smarter than he ever could be in real life.

Then something bad happens and the dog has to save the day - which he does in the last few minutes of the story.

In this case, the dog isn't in the midwest helping Timmy get saved from the bottom of the well. Instead, he's trained to go along and fight with the troops.

Does he save the day and help lead the boys to victory?

Of course he does. What makes it interesting is the implication that the dog is as smart - as the brave boys that he saves from certain death.

It just goes to show that often one of the best ways to save a dying, tired genre of movie is just to put in a new twist and/or combine it with another movie genre.

It works well in this picture."

Doggy Power!

jen | 07/28/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"War Dogs is a great story about soldiers doing whatever they can to survive war. In this case when faced with the dangers of World War II they eventually enlist dogs to help them out. This is where the title's double meaning comes from - soldiers are called war dogs and then they bring dogs in for war. Clever, huh? The highlight of the film is the tense battle sequences that are much more realistic than other films of this genre and era."