Max
A dog that helped soldiers in Afghanistan returns to the U.S. and is adopted by his handler's family after suffering a traumatic experience.
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- Cast:
- Thomas Haden Church , Josh Wiggins , Lauren Graham , Robbie Amell , Mia Xitlali , Luke Kleintank , Jay Hernandez
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Reviews
I love this movie so much
As Good As It Gets
Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
Kyle Wincott (Robbie Amell) and his dog Max are hunting for weapons in Afganistan. His superiors suspect some of the confiscated weapons have gone missing. Kyle's younger brother Justin is a disappointment to their father Ray (Thomas Haden Church). Pamela (Lauren Graham) is their loving mother. When Kyle is killed, Max is devastated and becomes uncontrollable. Max is taken to Justin during the funeral and Justin adopts him. Justin's friend Chuy's cousin Carmen helps him train Max. Chuy's other cousin Emilio is a drug dealer. Kyle's suspicious comrade Tyler Harne comes to visit and Max is not happy.The plot is more convoluted than necessary. Max as a war dog should be enough to make a tear jerker. Instead, this is overloaded with convenient bad guys with an interconnected villainous plot. A simpler villain for Justin and Max to tackle would have made this infinitely more compelling. I don't find anybody overly objectionable. It is the story that needs some cleaning up. Also, I was hoping the Mexican kids could buck the stereotype but they end up having a drug dealing cousin. A feel-good old fashion war dog movie could be good family fun but this keeps going off track.
Nowadays there are no good dog films like a decade ago were. They're restricted to television for the quality only the little kids can get entertained thoroughly. This film is a good news for adults and not a usual story, only from the outside. I mean the story was associated with war, only in the initial segment and then the rest of the narration was somewhat feeling familiar.Inspired by the war dogs who assisted the US soldiers during the war in the middle- east of what is this film is dedicated to. A dog named Max returns States from the service after met with a disaster. Now he's adopted by a family whose son had died fighting the same war along side him. With struggling to adjust a new life, Max finds a close bond with a boy in the family and that leads to an adventure in the nearby woods where they fight against the illegal activists.The same boy from the film 'Lost in the Sun', but here he had full scope for his character. The rest of the cast as well very good, especially the dog. A good story, but anticipated a little better with more developments. Emotionally, it should have been stronger, but somewhat satisfying overall product it was. The locations were beautiful, especially the woods.The end was decent as a story, but they did not get it right in pictures. Seems there's logic missing regarding the geographical area where blast takes place. I know it won't be your top 10 pick from the years, yet not that bad to skip it. Not a dog film I hoped for, but I accept it for the todays scenario where quantity declined. So I say go for it.7/10
Max really is a movie to be watched by a younger audience or people who have nothing else to do on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Max is the story of a shepherd dog who helps soldiers in the Middle East. One day, during a normal operation, the soldier who takes care of him dies and Max is taken back to the US. Unfortunately, after the shock of losing his owner, and the terror of war, the dog is totally untrainable and is about to be sacrificed. At the last minute, the soldier's younger brother is given the dog and a set of adventures unfold between them. Together, they develop a strange friendship that leads them to dismantle a dodgy business of counterfeit weapons. Children, a bit of bicycle riding. Seems like E.T without all the special effects and the magic touch of Steven Spielberg.
'MAX': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)A family adventure flick; about a war dog, who was used to assist US marines in Afghanistan, that's taken in by it's handler's family, after the handler is killed in battle. The film was directed by Boaz Yakin (who's also directed other family flicks, like 'REMEMBER THE TITANS' and 'UPTOWN GIRLS'), and it was written by Yakin and Sheldon Lettich (a veteran action movie writer; including multiple Jeanne-Claude Van Damme movies). It stars Josh Wiggins, Thomas Haden Church, Lauren Graham, Dejon LaQuake, Mia Xitlali, Luke Kleintank, Robbie Amell and Jay Hernandez. The film is a well made, and traditional, family flick.When U.S. Marine Kyle Wincott (Amell) is killed in battle, in Afghanistan, his war dog, Max, suffers some severe PTSD. Max is taken in by Kyle's family; and put under the care of Kyle's brother, Justin (Wiggins). Justin is (at first) reluctant to take care of the dog, but they quickly form a special bond. Max proves his loyalty, to the Wincott family, when all of their lives are placed in danger; by Kyle's corrupt Marine buddy, Tyler Harne (Kleintank).I wasn't expecting to enjoy this film, nearly as much as I did; I was expecting a pretty cheesy family drama, pro-military, propaganda flick. I was wrong. The movie is surprisingly heartfelt and exciting; it's also pretty well acted, and directed. There's action, and serious danger; throughout. It's also a beautiful 'dog buddy flick'; every 'animal lover' should see it!Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://youtu.be/3D-Xa6uhK5U