Kyle and his dog Max serve as soldiers on the front line in Afghanistan. Kyle died in an ambush and Max is sent home traumatized to loud noises and hostile to people. Max only obeys Kyle brother Justin so the family adopts Max though Justin reluctantly accepts his new responsibility. Justin meets his friend Chuy's cousin Mia who is good with dogs. Mia helps Justin trains and bonds with Max. Kyle's friend Tyler comes back stateside, claiming to have injuries discharge and asking Justin's father for work and shelter, which the man gives. Justin meets Chuy's acquaintance Emilio who often buys pirated games from Justin. Justin and Max follows Emilio's scent and finds him and Tyler and a another man dealing arms. But the man's pit bulls catches Justin's scent and go for him. Justin escapes capture but the man, who turns out to be the sheriff's deputy, comes with Tyler to the house. Tyler persuades Justin to shut his mouth and put down Max.
Justin reluctantly agrees and lets the dog pound takes Max. His father gets suspicious about what happened and asks Justin about Tyler. He then goes to Tyler's place he lent him and finds Tyler and the deputy with an arms cache. So Tyler and the deputy takes the father hostage. Max escapes his captors and goes back to Justin. They with Chuy and Mia then follows Tyler's scent to the forest and finds him, Emilio, and the deputy about to do another deal. Again the pit bulls catches their scent and go after them. Max fight off the dogs and Justin evades Tyler. Emilio finds Chuy but Justin subdues him. The father frees himself and handles the deputy. Justin tells Mia to go get the police while he and Max run with Tyler on their heels. Eventually Justin gets cornered on the railway bridge with Tyler readied to shoot him. Max runs from behind and pushes him to the river. Fortunately Max survives the ordeal and the father starts to trust Max as part of the family.
The movie sure did a sneaky move, particularly to those who hasn't seen the trailer before seeing the movie. To start with the war drama part long enough and then quickly changes into the family drama part. Although most parts of the movie are indeed dramatizations, it can nicely recreate scenes inspired by real-life events. The scene where Max sits by Kyle's coffin draped with the flag is reminiscent to a photo of Jon Tumilson's funeral ceremony a few years ago which went viral on the social medias.
The overall story also reflects on the story of another war dog Eli and the Rusk family who adopted him after his handler, their son, died in Afghanistan. Yes, the movie sure did quite a hyperbolic take on the war dog stories by weaving all those touching real-life moments and giving the signature Hollywood action pack with guns and explosions. But it's really a nice take on war dogs after quite some time the cinemas haven't got any stories about them.
The war drama part contains enough weight in it although it would really help if only the movie would increase the suspense level more. The family drama did more than anticipated for its part. Yet the transition between the two parts can be polished better to make the flow smoother. Also the certain key points of the movie should take a little bit longer to develop, like the bond between Max and Justin, which feels quite fast since the movie uses much montages on the moments with Justin, Mia, and Max.
The acting overall is just as expected from the cast members. Josh Wiggins handled his main character status well enough, providing enough weight on his performance, although he could really increase it by expressing better on his face.Mia Xitlali steals attention well with her confident acting role here. Lauren Graham and Thmas Hayden Church did well to complete the critical angle of the family and balance the overall performance.
For me Max (2015) deserves a 7 out of 10 score and a recommendation to go and see in the movies. It's a good story especially for you Americans and the season of the Fourth of July.
Justin reluctantly agrees and lets the dog pound takes Max. His father gets suspicious about what happened and asks Justin about Tyler. He then goes to Tyler's place he lent him and finds Tyler and the deputy with an arms cache. So Tyler and the deputy takes the father hostage. Max escapes his captors and goes back to Justin. They with Chuy and Mia then follows Tyler's scent to the forest and finds him, Emilio, and the deputy about to do another deal. Again the pit bulls catches their scent and go after them. Max fight off the dogs and Justin evades Tyler. Emilio finds Chuy but Justin subdues him. The father frees himself and handles the deputy. Justin tells Mia to go get the police while he and Max run with Tyler on their heels. Eventually Justin gets cornered on the railway bridge with Tyler readied to shoot him. Max runs from behind and pushes him to the river. Fortunately Max survives the ordeal and the father starts to trust Max as part of the family.
The movie sure did a sneaky move, particularly to those who hasn't seen the trailer before seeing the movie. To start with the war drama part long enough and then quickly changes into the family drama part. Although most parts of the movie are indeed dramatizations, it can nicely recreate scenes inspired by real-life events. The scene where Max sits by Kyle's coffin draped with the flag is reminiscent to a photo of Jon Tumilson's funeral ceremony a few years ago which went viral on the social medias.
The overall story also reflects on the story of another war dog Eli and the Rusk family who adopted him after his handler, their son, died in Afghanistan. Yes, the movie sure did quite a hyperbolic take on the war dog stories by weaving all those touching real-life moments and giving the signature Hollywood action pack with guns and explosions. But it's really a nice take on war dogs after quite some time the cinemas haven't got any stories about them.
The war drama part contains enough weight in it although it would really help if only the movie would increase the suspense level more. The family drama did more than anticipated for its part. Yet the transition between the two parts can be polished better to make the flow smoother. Also the certain key points of the movie should take a little bit longer to develop, like the bond between Max and Justin, which feels quite fast since the movie uses much montages on the moments with Justin, Mia, and Max.
The acting overall is just as expected from the cast members. Josh Wiggins handled his main character status well enough, providing enough weight on his performance, although he could really increase it by expressing better on his face.Mia Xitlali steals attention well with her confident acting role here. Lauren Graham and Thmas Hayden Church did well to complete the critical angle of the family and balance the overall performance.
For me Max (2015) deserves a 7 out of 10 score and a recommendation to go and see in the movies. It's a good story especially for you Americans and the season of the Fourth of July.