Before I get too far into the details, I'll catch you all up on what Max is about. After Kyle, a dog handler in the U.S. Marines, is killed in Afghanistan, his German Shepherd Max is sent back to the states. Max is is extremely distrusting of and violent towards other people, but shows an affinity towards Kyle's younger brother Justin. Because of this Kyle's family takes Max in, and Justin begins training him with the help of his best friend's cousin who is good with dogs. However, things take a turn when Kyle's friend Tyler begins to get closer to Kyle's family. Eventually, Justin must rely on Max to help him find out the truth behind Tyler and what secrets he is hiding.
First, I want to state that Max proves itself to be a good film that perhaps older kids can get something out of. It might not be the most appropriate movie to take your four-year-old to see (there are some violent scenes), but I think most children around age 10 or older would thoroughly enjoy Max. It's quite rare these days for a non-animated movie that is child-friendly to be released, but this film is one of them. Families aside, I think that anyone who is a dog-lover could appreciate this movie for the story that it tells, as it is a good depiction of the strong bond between a boy and his dog.
However, there are some numerous negative aspects to Max as well. Firstly, this movie didn't quite know what it wanted to be and never really made its genre evident to the audience. It could easily be a patriotic war movie, filled with action scenes and the quintessential "catch the bad guy" plot that accompanies most action movies. However, it can also be labeled as a coming-of-age flick, where the relationship between a young teenage boy and his family and friends are put to the test. Take your pick, because Max does not make it clear at all. Overall, there's just too much content weaved into the relatively weak plot that this film centers on. Another negative is that I personally found this movie to be a bit slow, even slightly boring at times. It also had an extremely predictable plot, to the point where nothing at all surprised me while I was watching Max. Perhaps this is because it's a family film, and so the plot should understandably be a little bit easier to follow because kids will be watching it. But adding to this point, I do want to say that Max is actually a bit of a violent movie for younger children. I'm not a parent, so perhaps I have no right to step into this realm of movie critiquing, but in my opinion there were several action scenes that would make me think twice about taking younger kids to see Max (think war scenes, shooting, dogs fighting each other, and throw some explosions in there too). The last negative point that I want to make about this film is the acting. I personally wasn't moved by any of the characters in this movie, and despite their eldest son Kyle having recently died in war, his family didn't show much believable emotion over his death. Just in general, I thought that no one who acted in this film did an amazing job.
So there you have it, perhaps a bit harsh but my truly honest opinion for the 2015 movie Max. Maybe it's because I was expecting this film to be really good that it fell pretty short for me, but maybe one of you will enjoy it more. It's not a motion picture that I would recommend going to see, but I wouldn't tell you to not watch it. Maybe just wait until it's on DVD and rent it for a dollar instead of paying the big bucks at the movie theater.
Rating: PG
Genre: Action/Adventure
Run Time: 111 minutes
Release Date: June 26, 2015
My Rating: ★★☆☆☆
