Earlier last year, my girlfriend and I were surfing through Netflix trying to find something to watch when we stumbled upon “Benji”. We both love dogs so I figured a classic like “Benji” might make for a good movie date. It was within a few seconds that my girlfriend informed me that this “Benji” film was a new release, which took me by surprise because I didn’t know that the classic dog feature was rebooted! So, a feel good dog movie was something we could both agree with.
The new “Benji” tells the story of a cute little stray dog and the two children who discover him. The children decide to take the dog in, unbeknownst to their mother, and they name him Benji. A child can only hide a dog for so long however and once their mother finds out, she makes them get rid of Benji. Shortly after setting Benji free, the children end up getting kidnapped. Luckily, Benji doesn’t give up on the children and helps reunite the kids with their mother.
Brandon Camp wrote and directed the reboot of the 1974 classic. Brandon is the son of Joe Camp, the creator of the original “Benji”. Camp creates an interestingly fresh take on the franchise and I would be excited to see more adventures of Benji.
The two main child actors do a good job on the film but the real star of the movie is the dog. Benji is a cute little mixed breed dog and the dog really emotes better than most human actors. It was interesting to see Blumhouse Productions’ regular Angus Sampson in a supporting role.
I ended up really enjoying “Benji”. It wasn’t a masterpiece but it served it’s purpose and served as a solid reboot to the franchise. The only flaw I really had with the movie is that it was a little darker in tone than your typical family film. Ultimately, “Benji” is a fun little movie to watch to help you forget your troubles for ninety minutes or so.
Grade: B-
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