Director: Boaz Yakin
Writer: Boaz Yakin, Sheldon Lettich (Screenplay)
Starring: Thomas Hayden Church, Josh Wiggins, Luke Kleintank, Lauren Graham, Robbie Amell, Mia Xitlali
Plot: A Malinois dog that helped American Marines in Afghanistan returns to the United States and is adopted by his handler’s family after suffering a traumatic experience.
Tagline – Best Friend. Hero. Marine.
Runtime: 1 Hour 51 Minutes
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Wonderful Movie
Story: Max starts as we meet Kyle Wincott (Amell) an American Marine who works with a tracker dog Max, who helps locate dangers in Afghanistan. When Kyle is killed in action, his family, Ray (Church), Pamela (Graham) and little brother Justin (Wiggins) who is a gamer high school student get to meet Max for the first time and only see his aggressive nature, apart from around Justin.
They take Max home as he is suffering PTSD and the only person he will listen to and remain calm around is Justin, with a new friend in Carmen (Xitlali), Justin learns to take responsibility for the first time in his life.
Thoughts on Max
Characters – Max is the loyal marine trained dog that has served in Afghanistan locating potential threats for his soldiers. He sees his handler killed in action leaving him suffering with PTSD and now he needs a new owner, and the brother of his handler is the only one he will listen to. Justin is the younger brother of Kyle, he has spent more time on video games and illegal deals, not having responsibility needed like his brother. When Max enters his life, he learns about taking responsibility and following in his brother’s path. Ray is the father of the boys, he served before which has made him patriotic towards the cause while dealing with the grief of losing his son too.
Performances – Josh Wiggins as the younger brother is good in this movie, we do see this sort of character a lot and he handles it well. Thomas Hayden Church is good in the supporting role, but if we are honest it is the dog that is the star of the show here.
Story – The story here shows the effects war can have on a dog that has been trained to locate threats, but the aftermath of losing that handler with their connection. We see the loyalty shown by the dog and how he can teach responsibility to the next generation of family. This is the strongest part of the movie, the rest does feel like a version of a home alone sort of thing because we follow a story about Max knowing right.
Adventure/Family – This does show the family needing to come together after their own tragedy which will give their youngster member a chance for an adventure.
Settings – We get a small look at the war scenario that Max has been and how he must adjust to normal life, which is where the struggle comes.
Scene of the Movie – Max search.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – I feel there was more to the Reyes story.
Final Thoughts – This is a good movie, that should be seen by dog owners that understand loyalty that could be given to the owner.
Overall: Dog Owners dream film.
Rating
