‘7 Dogs’ review: Barking-mad action propels a routine plot

Right from its opening sequence, in which a camera travels through a hole in a plane’s windshield and then through a pilot’s head into a cabin where an agent is wrestling with a criminal, 7 Dogs declares that it’s going to be big on barking-mad moments.

The 125-minute film is packed with breathlessly filmed, VFX-aided set pieces, some of which could trigger vertigo in sensitive viewers. (A lengthy chase filmed with a GoPro? Spare us.) The directors, the Belgian-Moroccan brothers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, never lose an opportunity to put a literal spin on action sequences, necessary to boost a routine cops-versus drug dealers plot.

The Arabic hit has been dubbed into Hindi and released in Indian cinemas. Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan have cameos in a movie that is a Hollywood pastiche as well as better filmed Bollywood.

The story is attributed to Saudi Arabian government official Turki Al-Sheikh. Care is taken never to misrepresent the Saudi government’s treatment of drug-runners (always jail, no executions) while also showing off the kingdom’s various shooting locations.

Interpol officer Khalid (Ahmed Ezz) imprisons the fugitive Ghali (Karim Abdel Aziz), but is then forced to rely on Ghali to bust the 7 Dogs syndicate. This multi-national septet, which includes Sanjay Dutt...

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