Good drama, based on a true story. Bitter-sweet, and very moving. Starts very lamely and takes a while to get going, and is a bit uneven once it does get going. However, all this is made up for by the emotion it engenders.Good performances by Josh Lucas, Rachael Taylor and Koko (as Red Dog). Also features Keisha Castle-Hughes in a minor role. Supporting cast are hit-and-miss though.

Directed by Kriv Stenders, Red Dog is about a small desolate community of miners who bond and unite under the local stray known to them as Red Dog. When Red Dog loses his master, he sets out to find him on a legendary journey that inspires those around him.Red Dog could have been a truly meaningful movie, but too many attempts at international and family appeal resulted in an endless array of childish clichés. I could imagine future viewers rolling their eyes every time the characters scold Red Dog for farting or some other awkward bodily function. The biggest cliché offender was a fight scene between Red Dog and "Red Cat" that seemed to be plucked straight out of 'Looney Tunes' when the two animals clashed in a literal tornado of dust and paws. Physical comedy and clichés subtracted immensely from the overall quality of the movie.What could have been an arsenal of authentic characters, instead diminished into racial stereotypes, with quirky backstories, thrown in to keep the movie from becoming tedious. Like the Italian, named Vanno, who had nothing going for him but his borderline racist rants about his hometown, or Peeto whose single purpose seems to be to act like an Australian stereotype. What was disappointing was how intriguing characters (like the Russian men, the harmonica player, the local policeman, Vanno's love interest, and even the sun-burned man who spoke Chinese all seemed like potentially entertaining characters), instead were given 15 seconds of fame and then vanished into background extras. The main character John Grant (Josh Lucas) was just as dull as the secondary characters, except he wasn't a complete stereotype. Sadly, the other main character Nancy (Rachel Taylor) seemed to be thrown in to serve the purpose as a love interest for John. Fortunately, Rachel Taylor's great acting allowed Nancy to develop into one of the movie's main characters. Everything aside, the movie had an excellent cast, but the characters needed more attention.The one thing that stood out in the movie was the cinematography and camera work, each shot from landscape to close-up was done elegantly. Unfortunately, the director got too carried away and began bombarding the screen with montages. It became apparent that this excessive use of montages was almost like the director was trying to rush through the story. It seemed like the film script was: side character meets Red Dog, side character spends montage with Red Dog, something significant happens to character, rinse and repeat. I felt compelled to check to see if I hadn't sat on my remote and triggered the fast forward button. I felt that the director could have spent less time on montages and more time developing the characters and plot.Due to sponsorship from large mining industries like Rio Tinto, Red Dog was packed with mining advertisements. Scene after scene, trailers full of minerals are seen crawling across the landscape. There is absolutely no mining in the actual movie, the producers would rather have the 'miners' sit around and do nothing than put the horrendous sight of an open-cut mine on camera and risk their sponsor's disapproval. In the 1970's miners were paid little and worked in dangerous conditions. The miners in the movie seem oblivious to this as they are constantly going to the pub and betting. They should be rioting, not having hoedowns! In the movie they claim to be multicultural miners, yet they are all white Europeans, despite records of Asian migrants mining in Australia as far back as the gold rush. Even though this was an Australian movie, there were no indigenous Australians. In the real mining industry in the 1970's there were disputes over land between the mining companies and the tribes who lived there, this is not mentioned in the movie. The writer, producers, and director could have used the true nature of the mining industry to their advantage. This could have been a movie about a small community of poor miners trying to make a living under the demanding regime of the mining industry, who turn to the stray - Red Dog for comfort. As Vanno said " he is a dog for everybody, but no one in particular". Addressing things like the treatment of miners, the mining industry's disrespect for the indigenous people, hope and friendship could have created increased interest in the movie.What looked to be an esteemed Australian classic, turned out to be a cheesy Australian combination of Lassie and Grown-ups 2 with a mining theme. Red Dog was just another Aussie movie to bite the dust.

"Have you seen John?" is the one question to be answered to the Red and it will be.This movie was based on a true story of the legendary dog called Red dog. And one of a best dog movie ever made after 'Hachiko a dog's tale' and many others. This movie begins with fun in fact lots of loads of fun simultaneously very emotional and heartbreaking tale.Actually it was about a middle aged dog which appears from nowhere to a western Australian mining town called Dampier, and soon after he becomes everyone's dear and loved one which later taken care by them in the small community town without a particular master. When days passes everyone will have their own and unforgettable incidents with him till the day he picks his master.This dog was really so cute and given so adorable expressions throughout the movie. You will love this movie if you ever had a dog like this! The story somewhere crosses and get past through the movie 'Hachiko a dog's tale', I mean there's some similarities between these two but still this movie was independent. It won't tell the exact true story of the Australian legendary red dog which lived in 1970s but made few changes to the movie. The producer of the movie told it is a movie not a documentary, hmm I think the answer is fair enough!This movie must belong to everyone's one of the top Aussie movie into their collection. Highly recommended! Entertainment guaranteed and to have a tear released!

Red Dog is a movie which will tell you more about yourself than you might believe. At an extreme, if you like it, you're an empathetic soul who can revel in a good yarn and be whisked away into a world of yesteryear. If you don't like it you are probably a narcissist. So if you know where you sit on the scale between empathetic soul and narcissist you can simply decide to watch it based on your own assumption of your character. The movie has very few flaws (yes I am the empathetic soul) that aren't easily forgivable, the clichés are there but not overstated and the cast all perform admirably. An excellent soundtrack and the best dog acting you may ever see make this a must see family movie. Enjoy it!!