Six months after their release of “American Sniper”, Warner Bros. is out with a family-friendly war-themed (of sorts) film, as a Marine service dog returns from battle and has trouble adjusting to homelife in “Max”. As the opening credits reveal, K-9s have been used in the military since WWI.
Max, a Malinois Shepherd, was the companion of Marine Kyle Wincott. While on a tour in Afghanistan, Kyle is killed in a firefight. Max can’t cope without his dear friend, so he’s given to the Wincott family – father and former Marine Ray (played by Thomas Haden Church), mother Pamela (Lauren Graham) and Kyle’s younger brother Justin (Josh Wiggins), who Max takes a liking to. Justin normally spends his time playing war video games (and sells bootleg copies), but that now changes as he decides to take care of Max and become his new human companion.
Justin’s stereotypical best friend Chuy and his equally annoying cousin Carmen assist Justin in training Max. Many of these scenes play-out in cyclic fashion without much point or advancing of the story. The focus of “Max” early on is about Justin and his parents grieving over the loss of Kyle and the growing bond between Justin and Max. But the tone changes drastically in the second hour when the plot turns into a doggie version of “Mission: Impossible”, complete with chase scenes, kidnappings, arms deals and Max having to fight a pair of evil Pit Bulls. Unfortunately, all of this is too predictable and far-“fetched” to be effective.
Wiggins is solid, and it’s nice that veterans Church and Graham don’t phone-in their performances. We learn at the end of the film that more than two dozen military service dogs and their handlers have been killed in the line of duty since 2003. At times within the story, director Boaz Yakin (“Remember the Titans”) does a nice job honoring service men, women and animals. This isn’t Hallmark Hall of Fame-level corny. However, an edgier, more compelling script would have helped “Max” rise about its level of “Mediocre in Show”.
On The Official LCJ Report Card, “Max” gets a C.
Running Time: 111 min.