Official Synopsis
A precision-trained military dog, Max serves on the frontlines in Afghanistan alongside his handler, U.S. Marine Kyle Wincott. But when things go terribly wrong on maneuvers, Kyle is mortally wounded and Max, traumatized by the loss of his best friend, is unable to remain in service. Sent stateside, the only human he seems willing to connect with is Kyle’s teenage brother, Justin, so Max is saved when he is adopted by Kyle’s family. But Justin has issues of his own, including living up to his father’s expectations, and he isn’t interested in taking responsibility for his brother’s troubled dog. However, Max may be Justin’s only chance to discover what really happened to his brother that day on the front, and with the help of Carmen, a tough-talking young teen who has a way with dogs, Justin begins to appreciate his canine companion. Justin’s growing trust in Max helps the four-legged veteran revert back to his heroic self, and as the pair race to unravel the mystery, they find more excitement—and danger—than they bargained for. But they each might also find an unlikely new best friend…in each other.
There’s nothing quite like an endearing movie with decent acting and a believable story…well, mostly. MAX was one of those films that looks like there’s an incredible amount of cheesiness embedded in it. You have a boy and his dog trying to learn each other, while trying to stop an eventual bad guy from succeeding in a sinister plot. It’s pretty straightforward and it has cheesy moments, but it is still a very personal film that doesn’t have to convince you to like it through terrible comedy and unbelievable situations. In short, it does its best to not stray from what it’s trying to do, while bringing a fresh approach to what should be a predictable story. All of this is completely commendable.
Without further delay with the rambling, let’s get right to it.
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The first act sets up the movie by good explanation of where Max came from (military background) and how things went for him (sniffed out weapons/danger), and especially his relationship/attachment to his owner, Kyle (Robbie Amell). As you might suspect, things go wrong and Kyle is killed in action, which leaves Max all by his lonesome. Max is shipped home with Kyle’s body and is introduced to Kyle’s family that is going through grief from their loss. Kyle’s father, Ray (Thomas Haden Church), convinces his younger son, Justin (Josh Wiggins), to take on the responsibility of Max not only because Max might be put down due to his own post-traumatic stress disorder, but also to keep the memory of Kyle alive and kicking.
There’s a lot to take in from the first act. While the film seems enormously family-friendly on the outside, it quickly sheds that from the get-go and shows how serious of a dog Max is with his military gig. What’s surprising, at least for me, is that you get a real sense of protection and friendship between Kyle and Max, which helps the movie sell the story to the audience. I’m certainly not saying that there isn’t a little bit of cheese when Max is shifted from wartime to home, especially when it comes to Justin and Max bonding, but the sincerity and fill-gap of emotions that Max needs is very justified within the realm of the story being told. In short, act one went off without a hitch and started the movie on the right note.
Act two begins with Justin and Max adjusting to each other. The story introduces a third main character, Carmen (Mia Xitlali), to help with that adjustment, as she plays a girl who knows how to train dogs because her brother rescues them for a living. She is a perfect compliment to Justin, as well as a perfect bridge that leads to a stronger relationship between dog and owner. She helps to push the story along and she also acts as a cute love interest (but she’s pretty badass, so a good role model as well). As the relationship between Justin and Max grows, Justin’s relationship with his father begins to fall apart. Just in time for more conflict, Kyle’s old marine buddy, Tyler (Luke Kleintank) shows up at the house with bad intentions looming. Act two finds everyone in a mess, thanks to Tyler, and leads into some very illegal activities, led by Tyler, that go back to Tyler’s days with Kyle.
Act two shifts to a formulaic layout that plays it safe. You have a slow, but steady relationship being built with Justin and Max. You have a catalyst of trouble with Tyler, which equals out to some separation between Ray and Justin. Again, the story plays it safe and gives us that rollercoaster dip that we’re looking for in the story and the slow climb to a conclusion with the third act. There’s nothing wrong with the second act, rather it just plays it really safe, so there isn’t anything special that comes out of it. Director Boaz Yakin does a great job with developing the relationship with Justin and Max, as that is the most interesting part of the second act, but seems to lie down and roll over when it comes to making the story impactful and special. It’s okay, but I wanted just a bit more.
Act three concludes on a high note and the story spirals where you might predict it does, through Tyler. It ends well and strong, but still doesn’t take chances. Does that mean the film is bad? Not at all. Quite the opposite, but it’s not extraordinary beyond its safe boundaries. My kids loved this film and sat through it, which speaks volumes when it comes to the intended audience, but I’m not sure I would want to sit and watch it again.
Overall, Max is a solid film, but the predictable elements keep it from being great. It’s good, though, as the story of a dog and boy are quite endearing.
On the Blu-ray side of things, the film is done well visually. It’s a pretty movie that features a lot of close-ups, but doesn’t pull back to enjoy the beauty it contains (some wide shots would be spectacular). On the technical side, Warner Home Video does another great job with the HD transfer. There isn’t any color banding or visual imperfection in the transfer. Seeing that this wasn’t a huge film, it’s commendable the amount of effort put into the Blu-ray transfer. WHV does a great job with delivering the goods.
In terms of special features, here’s what you’re looking at:
– Working with Max: Meet the dogs that play “Max” and see inside tricks of the trade!
– Hero Dogs: A Journey – Get a behind-the-scenes look at amazing military trained K9s.
Not a lot here, but it’s a compliment to the film.
Onto the summary.