When I saw the trailer, I wondered why the movie isn't named after the dog from the story. It turns out that this story really is all about the lead character of Megan Leavey. Her struggles, her triumphs, and her love for Rex the dog. This is primarily a look into her life, with the dog being a really good supporting actor. I will have to say that although this is based on a true story, the movie itself took many liberties to make things more dramatic. It can be easy to fault it for doing that, but the primary theme and point of Megan Leavey's story still carries through.
The film is generally pretty low key without too much flashy scenes going on. There is an extended battle sequence which was done really well, but the majority of the movie is not exactly action packed. There's a lot of introspective moments in the movie, which I thought wouldn't have worked if it wasn't for Kate Mara in the role. I thought Mara was able to display the kind of moody angst, seriousness, and sadness that her character is suppose to have, and yet still be able to show pure happiness when it's needed. Without a lot of elaborate sequences, Kate Mara really needed to carry the movie as much as she could, and she did.
With a straightforward narrative, and it using familiar biopic plot tropes, it may sound easy to dismiss this movie. Some might also argue that the movie is a little manipulative in trying to get emotional reactions from people. I would say that isn't entirely true, and believe that despite some derivative plot points, this movie earns it's emotional pay offs. I'm not ashamed to say that it actually brought me to tears, and effectively got me there; although I love dogs a lot myself so there's that.
Despite the simplistic nature of the story, and a predictable plot progression, "Megan Leavey" actually does have an inspirational tale that's worth checking. The pairing of this female Marine and her bomb-sniffing dog is most definitely a story worth knowing.
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