Max Reviews

Initial Thought: I love dogs and I enjoy a good war movie. I can't say I have ever seen a movie about both. This looked like a really interesting watch from the trailer. So when it came out I knew I would be checking it out.

Characters/Acting: Other than Lauren Graham I actually enjoy the cast here. Max should have a higher billing since he is the title character though. I hated the Tyler character so much. Such a piece of trash. I didn't care too much about the younger brother's storyline much at first, but he did grow on me. Max is definitely my favorite character and maybe even the best actor.

Story: 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. Seeing a dog dealing with PTSD should be an interesting subject. This partially reminds me of The Guest with Dan Stevens. The action near the end is pretty intense which really outshines the boring majority of the movie. The ending was a bit cheesy.

Directing/Writing: Boaz Yakin is the director/co-writer here. This is the guy who directed Remember the Titans (which is one of my all time favorite inspirational sports films). He also wrote and directed Safe which was a pretty fun watch. His writing is a bit up and down with more ups than downs though. Sheldon Lettich who co-writes on the other hand is only really known for writing and or directing cheesy 90s action flicks usually starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. It is a strange mixture of talent behind the scenes here. I think if Sheldon Lettich wasn't involved this could have been much better. Instead like his action movies this ending up becoming a cliche.

Final Thought: This had potential to be a great story. Instead it's hindered by dog movie cliches and a mediocre main character. It's not a particularly bad movie, but it just wasn't as good as I was hoping. I'm sure it will be a good one time watch for dog lovers. For others I think it will just be a typical dog story. I would probably watch it again when I have kids.