Review: For a movie about a dog, I actually quite enjoyed it! I wasn't expecting deceptive gun runners and dog fights in the film and the emotional content did touch me, so I must admit, it was a joy to watch. It's about a US Marine, Kyle Wincott (Robbie Amell), who handles a dog, Max in Afghanistan. Max guides Kyles squad towards some hidden weapons but when the artillery goes missing, Kyle is questioned by his superior officers. Kyle soon realises that his close friend, Tyler Harne (Luke Kleintank), is involved in the missing weapons and he warns him that he's not going to cover for him again. Whilst on the battlefield, Max heads the squad toward a suicide bomber were Max gets injured and Kyle get shot and killed during a gun battle. Kyle's younger brother, Justin (Josh Wiggins), who makes money from pirating video games and his father, Ray (Thomas Haden Church) and mother Pamela (Lauren Graham), are informed about Kyle's death and during the burial, the US marines bring in Max to say goodbye to Kyle. Since the shooting in Afghanistan, Max has become uncontrollable but everyone can see that he is calm around Justin, because he can sense that he's Kyle's brother. As Max is due to be put down, the family agree to adopt him, as long as Justin takes control of him and they soon become best friends, with the help of his best friends cousin Carmen (Mia Xitlali). Tyler then visits the Wincotts and Max goes to attack him, because he knows of his dodgy gun dealings. Tyler then tells Ray that Kyle died because Max turned against.him so Justin goes to his fellow officer to investigate his brothers death. Justin is given a DVD to prove that Max wouldn't have turned on Kyle and while he is watching the film with Carmen and his best friend Chuy's, he is brought to tears and convinced that Tyler is lying. When they finish watching the DVD, Justin is approached by Chuy's other cousin, Emilio, whose a cartel member, about the pirate video games and they follow him into the woods and witness a arms deal with a police officer and Tyler. The police officers dogs can sense Max is nearby so they chase after him and Justin tries to flee the scene, leaving his bike behind. After Max fights of the police offers dogs, badly wounding one of them, they head home after hitchhiking a lift and when the police officer finds his bike, he goes to Justin house with Tyler and demands Max to be put down. Max manages to escape the pound and heads back to Justin house while Ray is held hostage because he has caught Tyler making an arms deal with the cartel. Max then leads Justin, Chuy and Carmen to Ray whereabouts and they manage to rescue Ray, after fighting of Emilio and the police officer. Tyler then comes face to face with Justin on a damaged bridge but he's attacked by Max, which kills Tyler and badly damages Max. After the whole dramatic incident, Max and Justin visit his brothers grave and the Wincotts adopt Max again. A sweet ending to a dramatic movie! The dog was brilliant throughout the movie and the emotional scenes at the funeral were brilliant. I would have liked to have seen some more footage of Max in Afghanistan with Kyle but apart from that, it's a decent film with enough elements to keep it interesting throughout. The dog is the real star of the movie but everyone puts in a good performance, which made the movie, surprisingly, a good watch. Enjoyable!
Round-Up: This movie was directed by Boaz Yakin, who also brought you Fresh in 1994, A Price Above Rubies with Renee Zellweger, Remember The Titans, Uptown Girls, Death in Love and Safe with Jason Statham. He's had a versatile career to date and he has worked with some big stars but taking on a movie with a dog must have been a big project, so I have to give him credit for that. He also put a lot of effort into the script, which I found quite entertaining, so for a family drama, this movie gets the thumbs up from me.
Budget: $20million Worldwide Gross: $44million
I recommend this movie to people who are into their family/adventure movies starring Thomas Haden Church, Josh Wiggins, Luke Kleintank and Lauren Graham. 6/10
Round-Up: This movie was directed by Boaz Yakin, who also brought you Fresh in 1994, A Price Above Rubies with Renee Zellweger, Remember The Titans, Uptown Girls, Death in Love and Safe with Jason Statham. He's had a versatile career to date and he has worked with some big stars but taking on a movie with a dog must have been a big project, so I have to give him credit for that. He also put a lot of effort into the script, which I found quite entertaining, so for a family drama, this movie gets the thumbs up from me.
Budget: $20million Worldwide Gross: $44million
I recommend this movie to people who are into their family/adventure movies starring Thomas Haden Church, Josh Wiggins, Luke Kleintank and Lauren Graham. 6/10