Director: Paul Schrader
Writer: Matthew Wilder (Screenplay) Edward Bunker (Novel)
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Willem Dafoe, Christopher Matthew Cook, Omar J Dorsey, Louisa Krause, Melissa Bolona
Plot: A crew of ex-cons are hired by a Cleveland mafioso to kidnap the baby of a rival mobster.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Boring Crime Thriller
Story: Dog Eat Dog starts as we see just how mad, Mad Dog (Dafoe) really is when things don’t go his way, before we get narration from Troy (Cage) explaining his relationship with Mad Dog and Diesel (Cook). These three men are all out of prison reunited with Troy recent release.
The three friends get hired to do their first job since Troy’s release which is to locate a drug stash in the possession of Moon Man (Dorsey) and with Mad Dog on the team the man who hires them questions the decision but can these three men work together they get a one off big paying job which could mean they can walk away for good but it involved kidnapping a baby.
Dog Eat Dog is a crime thriller that is full of unlikeable characters from start to finish. The job is all messy and you just can’t get behind the hapless trio as they look to get rich off this final job. I feel this could have worked more as a comedy but as a serious film it really just misses on every level.
Cage and Dafoe get to be unleashed to be their estranged selves once more Christopher Matthew Cook coming from nowhere and seemingly out shining them both. The rest of the supporting cast is largely forgettable too in what overall is just truly forgettable film.
Overall: Easily one of the most boring films of the year.
Rating
