12 Most Emotionally Devastating Movie Moments Of 2017
8. A Dog’s Purpose – Every Time That Goddamned Reincarnated Dog Died
With a rather embarrassing 30% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, A Dog’s Purpose is by no means a good movie but like Turner & Hooch, Marley & Me and countless Beethoven films before it it’s one of those not very good flicks made watchable by their adorable canine stars.
Purposefully designed to tug at the heartstrings of animal lovers, the film follows a dog who is continuously reincarnated while retaining memories of his past lives and eventually reunites with one of his most beloved previous owners.
Yes, that’s an eyeroll-inducing plot but it does mean that we get to see loads of different dogs from retrievers to corgis, however, we also have to see them die again and again and again in various ways from old age to taking a bullet for their owner. And we’re not even mentioning the countless near-death experiences the poor pups go through.
The constant, looming presence of the canine Grim Reaper makes A Dog’s Purpose a nerve-jangling watch for any dog lover and regardless of how bad it is it’s like a punch in the heart every time one of the cute dogs, ahem, ‘expires’.