Given its title, one might expect 2023’s DogMan to offer a new superhero effort. Instead, it provides a thriller from noted director Luc Besson.

While dressed as Marilyn Monroe, Doug Munrow (Caleb Landry Jones) gets arrested after cops pull over his van and find it packed with dogs. Given the unusual circumstances, the authorities send a psychiatrist named Evelyn (Jojo T. Gibbs) to learn more about him.

Evelyn plows through the wheelchair-bound Doug’s story from his youth of abuse committed by his father Mike (Clemens Schick) and his eventual bond with canines as his protectors. Since he also uses his furry pals as criminal accomplices, Doug faces problems.

After prominent releases like 1994’s Leon and 1997’s The Fifth Element, I thought Besson could turn into a consistently strong presence in the US cinematic market. However, after 1999’s The Messenger became an expensive flop in the States, Besson retreated from that market for years.

Actually, Besson didn’t make any more movies at all until 2005, and then he focused on films aimed at a French market for a good chunk of time. 2013’s The Family represented his first real stab at the US audiences in a while.

With 2014’s Lucy, Besson enjoyed a decent hit in the US, though it acted as an outlier in his catalog. Both 2017’s Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets and 2019’s Anna failed to sell many tickets in the States.

With US takes of $41 million and $7 million respectively, those two sputtered. Still, they did far better than DogMan, which barely got a US theatrical release and that took in a mere $76,395 in that region.

Despite his inconsistent work over the years, I still believe Besson possesses ample talent. Unfortunately, he does little to display this in the messy DogMan.

Not that the basic premise lacks promise. The tale of an abused boy who grows into a damaged adult with a loyal pack of support dogs seems potentially engaging.

Unfortunately, Besson tells the story in such an awkward and muddled manner that DogMan sputters too much of the time. The fact it evolves in flashbacks a lot of the time doesn’t help.

While cliché, the device in which Doug tells his history to the police psychiatrist seems functional. However, Besson relates the material in such a clunky manner that it all becomes disjointed and clumsy.

We just don’t get a real handle on Doug as we zoom through his life of (few) highs and (many) lows. The film paints him in such an erratic manner that it never threatens to gel.

As a result, we wind up with a melange of scenes that often seem barely linked to each other. DogMan slops from one segment to another without much clarity or punch.

All of this seems like a disappointment since the tale of an abused child whose bond with canines fuels his adult life shows intrigue. Somewhere buried in this mess, one could find a compelling narrative and an interesting character.

Besson just never gets there. This leaves DogMan as a collection of scenes in search of a purpose.

DogMan appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Across the board, this was an appealing transfer.

Sharpness looked strong most of the time. Some wider elements seemed a little tentative, but the image usually gave us a tight, well-defined image.

Jagged edges and moiré effects remained absent, while edge haloes also failed to appear. Print flaws stayed absent as well.

Nothing about the film’s palette stood out from the crowd, as it went with a pretty standard mix of teal and amber. These tones seemed predictable, but they worked fine within the movie’s design parameters and showed good delineation.

Blacks were dark and tight, while shadows showed nice clarity and smoothness. I thought this was a consistently strong image.

I also felt pleased with the film’s DTS-HD MA 7.1 soundtrack. Though not packed with action, the mix used the channels in an involving manner throughout much of the film.

This meant vehicles and environmental material all around the room, and the elements connected in a concise, smooth manner. Add to that music as a bold participant and the soundscape turned into an engaging partner, with some slam-bang from the occasional violent sequence.

Audio quality always satisfied. Music was dynamic and full, and effects followed suit, so those components came across as accurate and well-developed.

Speech seemed distinctive and crisp, without edginess or other issues. The audio worked fine for the material.

No extras appear on this disc.

Too often incoherent and overwrought, DogMan never connects. Despite some promising elements, the movie doesn’t come together in a manner that makes it anything other than a disjointed disappointment. The Blu-ray delivers positive picture and audio but it lacks bonus materials. Maybe Luc Besson will bounce back with his next release, but this one doesn’t work.