Alpha

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1:38

Alpha

PG-13

2018

1h 37m

Adventure

Drama

Action

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

80%

Tomatometer

132 Reviews

71%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Young Keda tries to survive alone in the wilderness after he's left for dead during his first hunt with his Cro-Magnon tribe. He soon forms an unlikely alliance with a lone wolf that was abandoned by its pack. Facing overwhelming odds and nonstop danger, Keda and the wolf must now trek through a harsh and unforgiving landscape to make it home before winter.

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Critics Consensus

Well-acted and beautifully filmed, Alpha offers a canine-assisted epic adventure that blends rousing action with an extra helping of canine charm.

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Stephen Romei

The Australian

Oct 13, 2018

3.5/5

Parental difference of opinion is put to the test throughout. And there's a significant twist at the end that takes this 20,000-year-old story smack into the #MeToo moment.

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Sandra Hall

Sydney Morning Herald

Sep 26, 2018

3.5/5

It's not so much a performance from Smit-Mcphee as a totally credible and unselfconscious demonstration of what it would be like to fight for your life against hunger and exposure

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Oliver Jones

Observer

Aug 29, 2018

2.5/4

It is difficult not to be impressed by much of what does arrive on screen.

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M.N. Miller

Ready Steady Cut

Aug 17, 2022

2.5/5

The film takes on a plastic, almost sterile feel, and the rugged landscape is less of a character, where it needs to be the center of the movie, especially since Alpha is in serious need of some star power

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Michael Clark

Epoch Times

Apr 9, 2022

5/5

Containing bits of Quest For Fire, The Revenant, Jeremiah Johnson, The Grey, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and maybe even a little bit of The Lion King, Alpha deftly mixes the survival, coming-of-age and shaggy dog genres to brilliant, mesmerizing effect.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Mar 11, 2022

3/4

The grandeur and scope throughout, obvious computer animation notwithstanding, leaves the viewer with a sense of awe.

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Robert P

@Superbad Sep 19, 2026

Alpha = a *4* star Movie!

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Maximillian G

@RT93681773 Sep 15, 2026

dis movie witterly describes me, cause im da aplha male in my pack. heh (need to reach the word count sorry)

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Marco L

@decatur555 Aug 25, 2026

Alpha works best not as a literal account of dog domestication, but as a beautiful prehistoric fable imagining how our extraordinary relationship with wolves might have begun. Its survival story is conventional, yet the gradual bond between Keda and the animal gives it real warmth: fear becomes necessity, necessity becomes trust, and trust eventually becomes companionship. Kodi Smit-McPhee carries the adventure well, while Albert Hughes surrounds him with spectacular landscapes that make the prehistoric world feel vast and hostile. Some imagery is overly polished, but that matters less when the film is approached as an imagined origin story rather than historical reconstruction. The simple idea at its center is enough: perhaps one of humanity's most important relationships began when two species discovered they had a better chance of surviving together.

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Romit S

@RT92041781 Jul 5, 2026

Waste of time very bad just saw it wasted my money time story is like watching kids show very bad

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Les N

@Vegas628 Mar 20, 2026

No very accurate, but still a good yarn.

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Natalie G

@RT16644129 Dec 29, 2025

I loved this movie. I am in AWE of this type of movies. Beautiful cinematography, story, and a window of life in those times, examples of evolution....

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Albert Hughes

Director

Kodi Smit-McPhee

Keda

Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson

Tau

Marcin Kowalczyk

Sigma

Jens Hultén

Xi

Natassia Malthe

Rho

Alpha: Official Clip - A Peace Offering

3:16

Now Playing

Alpha: Official Clip - Bonding with a Wolf

3:43

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Alpha: Official Clip - Man's Best Friend

3:00

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Alpha: Official Clip - Bison Hunting

3:12

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Alpha: Official Clip - Feast for the Vultures

3:30

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Alpha: Official Clip - Trapped Under Ice

2:50

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Alpha: Official Clip - First Game of Fetch

3:48

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Alpha: Official Clip - Black Panther vs. White Wolf

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Alpha: Official Clip - Back to the Pack

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Alpha: Official Clip - Wolf Puppies

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Synopsis

Young Keda tries to survive alone in the wilderness after he's left for dead during his first hunt with his Cro-Magnon tribe. He soon forms an unlikely alliance with a lone wolf that was abandoned by its pack. Facing overwhelming odds and nonstop danger, Keda and the wolf must now trek through a harsh and unforgiving landscape to make it home before winter.

Director: Albert Hughes
Producer: Andrew Rona
Screenwriter: Dan Wiedenhaupt
Distributor: Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment
Production Co: Studio 8
Rating: PG-13 (Some Intense Peril)
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 17, 2018, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 17, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $35.9M
Runtime: 1h 37m
Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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