A Dog's Purpose
Universal Pictures | Release Date: January 27, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
43
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
17
Negative:
9
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
38
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyJan 27, 2017
The tonal weirdness and the philosophical fallacies and the general level of treacle did not sit very well with me. Then again, I have to admit I’m really more of a cat person. Read full review
38
Rolling StonePeter TraversJan 27, 2017
A manipulative script about dog reincarnation that whacks your emotions like a piñata – that's forgivable. Not this. It shouldn't happen to a dog. Read full review
38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rebecca TuckerJan 26, 2017
Bailey’s journey through space and time and life and death to reunite with Ethan only seems to reinforce the notion that a dog’s purpose is to be man’s best friend. And we knew that already. Read full review
30
Village VoiceChris PackhamJan 26, 2017
Because we see so much of ourselves in them, it’s nearly impossible not to anthropomorphize dogs. Which the filmmakers know, and exploit in the same way that a dog exploits an unattended burrito on the counter — enthusiastically, with no compunctions and not a thought in its head. Read full review
30
The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerJan 25, 2017
You don’t need an animal-rights group’s boycott to give you permission to avoid A Dog’s Purpose. You can skip it just because it’s clumsily manipulative dreck. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChroniclePeter HartlaubJan 26, 2017
A Dog’s Purpose is peril porn; the animal grows old or faces tragedy and expires over and over, reincarnating into a new dog with the same brain. Read full review
12
Slant MagazineKeith WatsonJan 25, 2017
Lasse Hallström's gooey film exists only to offer comforting reassurances about dogs' natural servility. Read full review
11
Austin ChronicleJosh KupeckiJan 25, 2017
A misguided and utterly tone-deaf Hallmark card to the canis lupus familiaris and the people who love them. Read full review
0
IndieWireJude DryJan 24, 2017
What is the meaning of life? Are we here for a reason? Is there a point to any of this? We may never know, but knowing this movie exists may bring some viewers one step closer to giving up on the whole damn thing. Read full review
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