Review of Max (2016) by Patrick L — 07 May 2016

"No Boy! Bad Dog! Bring that bad script back to Hollywood and deliver a better movie".

DVD Movie Review: Max.

Date Viewed: October 27 2015.

Directed By Boaz Yakin (Fresh, Uptown Girls,.

Remember the Titans and Safe).

Written By Sheldon Lettich and Boaz Yakin.

Starring: Josh Wiggins, Thomas Haden Church, Lauren Graham, Dejon LaQuake, Luke Kleintank, Robbie Amell, Mia Xitlali and Jay Hernandez.

Are you sure this movie is for kids? "Max" is a overly-patriotic family adventure about the friendship between a young boy and his dog who once served with the kid's older brother in the military. AWWWW! Look kids! It's a PG-rated "American Sniper". It has leather-clad cartels who are working with a soldier who used to be friends with the dog's handler, intense gun violence and a son who mostly spends his time pirating video games just to make a quick buck. What a cute movie this is. Just Kidding! This canine adventure is lame and boring.

Max is a Belgian shepherd who once served with Kyle Wincott (Robbie Amell) in Afghanistan but when Kyle gets shot and killed by insurgents, Max is forced to return home. Kyle's parents (Thomas Haden Church and Lauren Graham) want to adopt the dog but Kyle's little brother, Justin (Josh Wiggins) wants nothing to do with Max, he mostly spends his days pirating video games just to make money. If Max doesn't go with the Wincott family, he will be put down.

I know where this is heading! The kid hates the dog first, he learns how to communicate and play with the dog, they become friends and they encounter serious danger. Great job boy! This movie is super-formulaic. So yeah predictably, Justin and Max become friends and he even has time to pick up a potential girlfriend. When Kyle's old military friend, Tyler Harne (Luke Kleintank) comes to visit the Wincotts and express his condolences for him, Max barks like hell. Why? Because Tyler made shady dealings with the same people who killed Kyle.

However, Tyler tells Kyle's father a different story, he said that Max turned on his own handler and had Kyle killed in the firefight. Daddy wants to put the dog down but Justin doesn't believe Tyler's version on what happened to Kyle. Tyler is back in town to make more shady deals, this time with leather-clad cartels. My God, why hasn't the Department of Justice or the FBI been taking any action to investigate this guy? Why is Max the only one who could stop Tyler? Because he is a military dog and the star of this film.

"Max" is a strange misfire from writer and director Boaz Yakin who has been on dark territory before. He made his filmmaking debut with the coming-of-age crime flick "Fresh" and three years ago, he did a decent Jason Statham actioner called "Safe". Yes, he also did the sentimental football drama "Remember the Titans" but Yakin along with co-writer Sheldon Lettich (who wrote "Rambo III" and a lot of action movies for Jean-Claude Van Damme) need more than sentimentally and a cute dog to win over the family audience. Josh Wiggins is fine as the kid who wins over Max but Thomas Haden Church and Lauren Graham are underused here as the parents.

No Max! No Boy! Bad Dog! Bring that flag-waving script back to Hollywood and deliver me a better movie.