Megan Leavey Review
PG13: War Violence, Language, Suggestive Material, and Thematic Elements
Bleecker Street, LD Entertainment
1 Hr and 56 Minutes
Cast: Kate Mara, Edie Falco, Ramon Rodriguez, Bradley Whitford, Common
REVIEW: So I only saw one film about a military dog, and that was 2015’s, Max. Boy did that movie piss me off. It was a generic family film with nothing going for it. I thought there were more films besides that where a war dog bonded with a boy. As I looked it up, there were barely any films of that type. Now we have a biopic about a war hero woman named Megan Leavey and her war dog Rex. A war drama biopic about a woman and her war dog? I have never heard of that before.
"Megan Leavey" is based on the true-life story of a young Marine corporal (Kate Mara) whose unique discipline and bond with her military combat dog saved many lives during their deployment in Iraq. When she is assigned to clean up the K9 unit after a disciplinary hearing, Leavey identifies with a particularly aggressive dog, Rex, and is given the chance to train him. Over the course of their service, Megan and Rex completed more than 100 missions until an IED explosion injures them, putting their fate in jeopardy.
THE GOOD: This film is the perfect vehicle for Kate Mara. Instead of seeing her act all serious and tough as you did in House of Cards, Morgan, and even Fan4stic to an extent, in this you see her acting range. You see her be serious, but you also see her be vulnerable. She acts like a human being who embodies human strengths and weaknesses. Somewhere halfway through the film (after she lets her hair down), it hit me who Kate Mara she reminds me of that I've never noticed before. KATE MARA REMINDS ME OF A YOUNG SANDRA BULLOCK!
Instead of just establishing her as a Marine officer we see why she wanted to become one for she felt her life was going nowhere. Moreover, who can blame her? Her mom is a piece of shit and has no other friends or family in her life to fall back on. She has her dad whom she loves very much but isn’t available for her at the time of need. Because of all these factors, you can see why this woman wanted to get step out of her life and start anew.
Her only issue is that she is a train wreck. She begins to show complexity as the film goes on, but from the beginning of her voiceover monologue, she addresses to the audience how much she is not one for human interaction. As the film goes on to learn more about Leavy and why her character is this way. You side with her more and empathize with her actions.
When we're introduced to her dog Rex, we see him as a loose cannon. He is aggressive, impulsive, and listens to no one similar to Leavey. The only difference is that he barks. This dog is pretty much your typical teenage rebel. They don’t start off on the right foot, but over time you see them bond and come closer in a genuine fashion. They begin to have a genuine bond. For someone who says from the beginning how she is affectionate towards no one, you see her grow off elevator towards him especially after he saves her life on the battlefield. The dog becomes her home. You root for them to end up together because how her genuine their relationship is built. Their relationship feels real and never manipulative.
Another person who appears in the film is Common. In all honestly, it is great to see him in another role outside the mean mugging henchman with a gun for he is a Sergeant. Though this is different from his recent roles, he is hard to take seriously. You even see him have a hard time take himself seriously at times. You see him attempting to hold his laughter together with some of the dialogue he is giving specifically when he has to insult his soldiers. You see him maintain his calmness by having a smirk on his face.
THE BAD:As a war procedural, the movie consistently works. Though the film is telegraphed like a TV movie with its constant shaky cam, the sequences of Leavey and Rex on missions are thoroughly intense. The camera are all over the place at times that I forget this is a regular movie and not a goddamn found footage film.
Some of the issues I have with the movie is what I have with Megan Leavey herself. At the beginning of the movie, you feel for her because of her shitty family, but it doesn’t help that she makes some of the worst decisions. I know the decisions she makes are supposed to progress her as a strong character who make better decisions but ever so often she does something dumb that makes you go, “Come on girl. You’re better than this.” She makes a lot of dumb decisions, but they do lead to obvious consequences.
One of the biggest shortcomings of the film is Ramon Rodriguez. I am not saying his performance is bad or anything because he is charming but his character, on the other hand, is unnecessary. When Megan goes on her first mission, he is brought in to be her obligatory love interest. Their subplot is predictable, and your eyes begin to roll once it is introduced into the movie. The entire focus of the film is about this woman and this war dog, not this romance subplot. It is a battlefield you do not need to find love on the battlefield. The strongest love in the movie is between Megan and Rex. The dog brings out her humanity and that works 100%. All that romantic stuff tremendously fails.
The film takes place in the 2000s, and the film accurately keeps up with its time but in odd ways. It's weird how you are reminded of it for you see X-Boxes off the back of an Afghan car, a reference to Destiny’s Child (y'know when they were a thing) and you see old Google in its glory. It gets distracting at times and stops a film to a halt, but quickly moves on afterwards.
LAST STATEMENT: Led with a strong performance by Kate Mara, Megan Leavey is a genuinely heartwarming biopic despite its shortcoming of cliches.
Rating: 3/5 | 68%
Super Scene: Rex and Megan’s bonding time
