It took some time for this flick to grow on me. I thought it was a decent post-apocalypse flick that slowly lost me a bit when it became a road-trip movie. But through the sheer power of acting, writing, and some solid motion capture, the movie earned itself a good review.

The film stars Tom Hanks as one of the few survivors of an environmental apocalypse who spends his days surviving and scavenging. He’s got a dog to take care of and is helped by a robot. He finishes a new robot (and teaches it to walk and to think) right before a storm and they flee west across the US in an RV seeking new digs.

Tom Hanks putting in a good performance is nothing new. For Hanks, that’s called a Monday, given or take six days. It just happens… but I think he ultimately puts in a solid, regretful performance that’s a little unusual for him. Usually he’s funny or serous or some combination of brightness and stalwartness. Seeing a despondent Hanks is a bummer… but, since he’s Hanks, he pulls it off.

He’s accompanied by a very good mo-cap performance by the robot Jeff who is some level of CGI and practical robotics. I honestly couldn’t see any seems so would have to watchin the behind-the-scenes to see how they pulled it off. And the robot gives a good, emotional performance… ranging from childlike excitement to sadness. The emotional performance is more than just good voice work too… there’s a moment near the end where he silently puts his head on Hanks’ shoulder that was very powerful.

And then there’s the dog, Goodyear. Great dog name for a good dog. I’m not gonna say the best dog performance, but it’s good enough. The dog isn’t the star, but he’s ultimately represents the central emotional stakes.

This movie isn’t a Mad Max type post-apocalypse or an I Am Legend one either. There are a few moments of action and suspense but mainly it’s a thoughtful, dialog-heavy, emotional bit of filmed character catharsis.

So this is a worthy watch on Apple TV+. It’s not going to amaze you with big spectacle or the number of people shot or run off the road… it’s a gentler, even beautiful apocalypse. It’s an actor’s movie, it’s an FX team’s movie, and it’s a movie that combines the two to tell a small-scale human story. Good job.

Score: 86