The narrative centres on the struggles of a retired Green Beret, James Belmont (Brad Pitt) and his loyal combat dog Odin as they fight for survival in the Alaskan wilderness. Together they stuggle with both mental and physical scars which linger from years of conflict. The film was devoid of any obvious 'woke' ideology. However, the same cannot be said for those who made it. Brad Pitt and J.K. Simmons have both endorsed Democratic Party candidates in the past and promoted LGBT ideology. An actress in the film, Anna Lambe identifies as 2SLGBTQ and one of the film's producers Olivia Hamilton, is (or was as recently as 2024) the president of the Women's Foundation of California an extreme feminist organisation. Narrative spoilers: Belmont (Pitt) ultimately succumbs to his injuries at the final hurdle. Odin is seemingly rescued and adopted by a girl with a nose ring (Lambe). It is not quite a satisfying conclusion as Belmont's corpse is left to rot not far from safety as per his wishes.

Avoiding "woke" tropes does not mean a movie lacks a political agenda. Relying on traditional themes like patriotism and human-animal bonds often makes political messaging far more effective under an emotional cover. ​Pairing a traumatized Special Forces veteran with a military dog suffering from PTSD in the wilderness serves as institutional soft power through three pillars: ​Absolving Responsibility: Dogs lack political agency. Parallelizing the dog's PTSD with the soldier's projects innocence onto the combatant, framing him as a victim and cleansing the military complex of moral accountability. ​Erasing Geopolitical Reality: Shifting the conflict to a struggle against nature removes foreign policy and civilian casualties, reframing war as a natural tragedy where only the soldier and dog matter. ​Heroic Victimhood: Focusing on loyalty creates an emotional shield around the military. ​Verdict: Heavy Political Agenda (9/10), while its Woke Agenda is very low (2/10).