Megan Leavey

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source: Megan Leavey

My wife and I watched this at home on DVD from a Redbox rental. Megan Leavy is a New Yorker, and a Yankees fan. Her mom and dad had split up, as a teenager she seemed mostly aimless. She worked in small jobs but wasn't motivated. One day she walked past a recruiting office for the US Marines and on a whim joined up. She made it through basic training but still was aimless. Until a misdemeanor got her a nasty work detail, cleaning the dog kennels. Kate Mara is very effective as Megan Leavey in this mostly quiet movie. Yes, there are scenes simulating the conflict in Iraq in the early 2000s, necessary to establish what Megan and Rex went through, but a large part is what happens to her when she gets home. During her work detail she became determined to be a dog handler, doing extra running and other physical training, gaining the "expert" rating with a rifle. She finally got the chance and did a tour with her dog, becoming very effective at sniffing out bombs and weapons cache's. Plus receiving the Purple Heart. Th resolution of the story was the difficult fight against the bureaucracy to enable her to adopt her dog upon his retirement. A thrust of her story is to "never give up" fighting for what you want. Good story and very well presented.

The storyline is all there for this movie, but it's really lacking punch and doesn't engage the audience. It also doesn't portray much of a bond between Megan and her dog Rex. I even watched it a second time to try and give it another chance, but for me it was kinda dissapointing

There's a time and a place for film's such as Megan Leavey and while this often sappy and Lifestyle like film never reaches great heights or surprises, there's joys to be found in this true life tale that will make you walk away from it with a smile on your face. Released direct to home video here in Australia after a low-key but well received release in the USA in the middle of 2017, Megan Leavey examines the life and times of its title character, who in the midst of a young-life crisis enlisted into the American Marines and found herself a calling as a combat dog/front line operator who struck up a deep bond and friendship with her German Shepard companion Rex. It's the type of tale that is perfect for the US market, showcasing the best of what the marines can do for those that apply themselves and work hard at achieving the best they can do for their country and for dog lovers, Megan Leavey is the type of experience that will have them giving their doggo some extra treats and pats in the aftermath of this human interest tale. Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite handles things well and while a clear victim of a lower budget than is to be expected from usual fare such as this, Megan Leavey brings us into the action as Megan and Rex make a step from training to the front line and enter into the ground war that would make them both famous faces of the war in Iraq. Key also to Megan Leavey's ability to be constantly engaging without blowing minds is the commitment of lead actress Kate Mara who is as good as she's ever been as Leavey and her comradery with her four-legged on-screen companion will pull at the heart-strings and give you those always sought after warm and fuzzies. From their initial frosty relationship to fully fledged friendship between human and animal, Megan Leavey captures the special bond between the two American combatants that captured the hearts of a nation. Final Say - Megan Leavey pulls no surprise punches and plays out to the well-worn playbook of similar film's but that doesn't stop it from becoming and always watchable and proficiently made feel good tale that reminds us all that in the midst of war, special friendship and incredible tales of bravery are the tales that will live on. 3 cans on a leash out of 5

Although I have gotten emotional over films with dogs as a central part of the film before, Megan Leavey is the first canine centric film I've watched since I became a dog owner myself, and it became an extremely moving experience. There's no denying an impact a dog can have on someone's life. For Corporal Megan Leavey, it was the military K-9 German Shepherd, Rex, who changed her life. The film covers many years of Leavey's time as a K-9 officer with Rex as they save lives uncovering bombs and other dangerous explosives. There are some typical military sequences that set up Leavey as a sort of, mess-up and misplaced character, but for the most part, the film is a unique and inspired take on one section of the military. Complemented by a solid supporting cast, the real heroes here are Leavey and Rex. Like any great relationship, there are ups and downs. But there are a few indicators that the bond they share isn't something that can be easily quantified, and that made it truly special. Sometimes people are made for each other and sometimes certain dogs are made for certain people. It's just the way it is. Kate Mara plays Leavey brilliantly, as she so often does with characters. She's one of these under the radar actresses who always seems to bring their A-game. And if not for the fact that I was looking for a movie about a dog, I probably would have forgotten about watching these trailers last summer. The film itself flew under the radar, but I'm sure glad I checked it out. 8.8/10

The star here is the German Shepherd, Rex, who pretty much steals the movie. Through the years, I have had a few dogs, and many Shepherds. Rex is right up there with Lassie and Rin Tin Tin. The human element is carried by Kate Mara, as the marine who joined the military to escape a life with no direction. The dog gave her some direction in life and they were a team of bomb detectors who were sent to Iraq and both human and animal won medals for bravery and eventually were separated by circumstance. Kate and Rex have excellent chemistry, and although the story is nothing new as far as war films go, in the end I really cared for them and wished for a happy ending. This could have been perfect for family viewing except for one scene outside of a bar after a night of too much beer. Miss Mara needs to use a restroom, but uses a side walk instead. Other than that brief warning and some occasional strong language, I believe that kids can overcome those slight misstep and watch this with their parents.

Not only is the dialogue corny, trite and completely insulting to anyone with a desire for true to life behavior, it's delivered in the worst most wooden fashion by the most talentless cast assembled in quite a long time. The first section started out with promise, but it soon became clear that the lead character did not have the talent to convey any sense of real emotion. What should have been a strong touching relationship with her dog never came close to being believable. Once they got "in-country" the movie fell apart completely. What a coincidence that everybody she met over there was also from New York! The action sequences were so clumsily scripted it was almost embarassing to watch. There's more charisma in a truck of plywood then anyone in this cast could muster. By the time she returned from the war, my interest was completely gone and I only sort of paid attention while attending to far more interesting things like cleaning the gunk out from behind the stove. This movie wasn't garbage. It was worse than that.......