Our shaggy soldier story finds Army Ranger Briggs (Channing Tatum) assigned the task of driving Lula, the Hannibal Lecter of Belgian Malinois, from northern Washington to Arizona for the funeral of the beast’s dead master and fellow Ranger. Every dog has their day, many a genial box office star their dog picture. Move over Tom Hanks, Chevy Chase, Jim Belushi, and Chuck Norris, it’s Tatum’s turn. Lulu suffers from PTSD (Pooch Traumatic Stress Syndrome). When trying to win over a snarling shepherd, wouldn’t it be wise to skip the generic terminology and respectfully address her by name? Briggs leaves her alone in the car, first for target practice and later when he feeds Lulu allergy medicine to knock her out long enough to score in a Portland bar. A scene of comic relief finds Briggs — pretending that he’s blind to land a free hotel room — bolting after Lulu whose given chase to a Muslim couple. It’s far too uneven to be considered a service comedy and not the kind of PG-13 fare you’d want to take the family to. The script, co-written by Brett Rodriguez and Tatum’s co-director Reid Caroli, eventually comes down with a bad case of sentimental parvo. (2022) — Scott Marks
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