It means to be about a struggling family saved by a brave dog. What most viewers will agree on is that it needed more dog.

For a family film with after-school-special vibes, it lands exactly where it should.

Johnny Harrington's script is a little too paint-by-numbers to land a strong impact.

Dakota the dog can't quite fill the paw prints of Lassie, Benji, or Rin Tin Tin -- there's just not enough warm fuzzies in the fur of this Belgian Malinois.