"That dog saved my life."

SYNOPSIS: 

Based on a true story. Megan Leavey (Kate Mara) feels lost after the death of her bestfriend and decides to join the marines to run away from her troubled life. While at the K9 unit cleaning the dog kennels, Megan connects with a German Shepherd named Rex and then later becomes his handler.  

Contains spoiler.

I think people with a strong connection with their pets would love this movie because it really explores the bond between Megan and his war partner, Rex. I know it is labelled as a war movie but it is not actually focused on the war. Rather, it is more of how Megan falls in love with Rex and how desperate she is to keep that unconditional love after their military service ends. 

Therefore, if you plan on watching this movie, do not expect it to be like Saving Private Ryan or Kajaki. Instead, just expect it to be like Marley and Me and Max. 

The story has three parts. Part one is about Megan joining the marines, meeting Rex and training him. This part is rather charming and it feels good to see how Megan is so determined to be Rex's handler.

The second part is when both her and Rex get deployed to Iraq. This is where the action is. Honestly, some of the parts are rather suspenseful because it is unknown when a bomb would explode. To see how Megan and Rex get so close to a suspected bomb location is rather unnerving. The gun fighting scene is also good but not great. I don't particularly like the fact that two armored Humvees can't win against some barefooted jihadis. 

Lastly, the last part is about Megan fighting to adopt Rex after she quit the military. This part feels a bit draggy but it is rather necessary to show how a hassle is the process that Megan has to go through and the emotional struggle in order to get Rex home.

Honestly, the story is not that mind blowing and it is rather predictable but the journey from start to end is rather charming all thanks to how well the actors and actresses perform. 

Kate Mara does a good job in portraying Megan where she is able to really portray the troubled, tough personality as well as the emotional part. There is a scene where she has to cry for like a couple of minutes and for me, her performance is superb. That particular scene almost made me shed a tear. The other side characters are charming too. I particularly like Megan's love interest, Matt Morales (Ramon Rodriguez) and one of Megan's superiors, Gunny Martin played by Common. 

All in all, Megan Leavey is a nice movie because of the emotional sparks that it undertake through the relationship between Megan and Rex. Again, if you love pets, then this movie is most probably for you.

3 out of 5 stars.