When Kyle Wincott is killed in the war, his war dog, Max, suffers from stress. Max is to be put down because he has trouble listening to anyone else, until he meets Justin, Kyle's brother. Justin adopts and saves Max. Then both of their lives will never be the same again. Written by

Plot Synopsis:
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Kyle and his dog Max serve as soldiers on the frontline in Afghanistan. Kyle died in an ambush and Max is sent home traumatised 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 Chuys cousin Mia who is good with dogs. Mia helps Justin trains and bonds with Max. Kyles friend Tyler comes back stateside, claiming to have injuries discharge and asking Justins father for work and shelter, which the man gives. Justin meets Chuys acquaintance Emilio who often buys pirated games from Justin. Justin and Max follows Emilios scent and finds him and Tyler and a another man dealing arms. But the mans pitbulls catches Justins scenet and go for him. Justin escapes capture but the man, who turns out to be the sheriifs deputy, comes with Tyler to the house. Tyler persuades Justin to shut his mouth and put down Max.

Justin reluctantlyagrees and lets the dog pound takes Max. His father gets suspicious about what happened and asks Justin about Tyler. He then goes to Tylers 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 Tylers scent to the forest and finds him, Emilio, and the deputy about to do another deal. Again the pitbulls 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 tekks 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.

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liveylou8 from USA
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Going into view the movie, I had low expectations. I thought it was just going to be another boring kiddie movie. Boy, was I wrong!! This movie is action packed and intense. It kept me on the very edge of my seat the whole duration. There is some serious suspense to say the least. Not only that, but it's a real tear jerker. Good luck getting through this movie without becoming teary eyed at least once. I ended up falling in love with the dog Max and admired his loyalty toward his family. It really portrays how dogs are wonderful creatures at heart and brilliant judges of character. It's funny how one dog can make such a great impact. If you love dogs, warmhearted family stories, and tales of heroism then don't miss out on this one!

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cosmacelf from California
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I saw Max with my 10 year old sons. Absolutely awesome movie to see with your age 10 to 16 child. It is much more than a movie about a heroic dog. It is also a coming of age movie that has some deep dives into responsibility, relationships, and ethics. Oh, and it is a great adventure flick too.

The dog will hook your kids and get them past some early dialog. But once the movie gets going, hold onto your seats! Very exciting. Suffice it to say that the audience gave the movie a long round of applause as the credits rolled. And hopefully some of the life lessons will rub off on the kids...

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stycz from United States
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Who are these naysayers panning this film? They obviously lack hearts and/or pets. And what is wrong with a predictable movie about a heroic army dog? I found the script actually ambitious in trying to cover a wide gamut of issues. But always at the core of the film is great love for Max and the central characters. It's a family film filled with the angst that everyone experiences in family relationships. It's also filled with great love within the family and the challenges that come with expressing it. The action sequences are breathtaking! I was actually relieved that it was a Disney movie because in the scariest of moments, I hoped Disney wouldn't break my heart. I don't think children under 7 should see this without parents nearby to hold their hands. Tissues are recommended for all but the hardest hearted movie critics.

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CleveMan66 from United States
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Hollywood's affinity for heroic dogs on the big screen dates back to the silent film era, but only a very few of those canine characters became famous. A German Shepherd named Strongheart starred in a half-dozen silent films in the 1920s, including 1925's adaptation of the novel "White Fang". A much more famous German Shepherd movie star was Rin Tin Tin, who appeared in over two dozen movies in the 1920s and early 30s. Both dogs' bloodlines survive to this day, with Rin Tin Tin's direct descendants appearing in films into the 1940s, and Rin Tin Tin XII still making public appearances. Of course, the most famous hero dog of all is the collie named Lassie. As the character (a dog named Pal and Pal's descendants), Lassie made several movies in the 40s and early 50s (and a few more since), had a radio show in the late 40s and starred in a very popular 1954-1973 television series, and made various TV appearances since. So, can the hero dog in the movie "Max" (PG, 1:51) lay claim to the mantle of Strongheart, Rin Tin Tin and Lassie? That's a pretty tall order, but Max definitely fits the mold.

Max (played by a dog named Carlos, who previously appeared in "Project Almanac") is a Belgian Malinois (a type of Belgian Shepherd) who is employed as a military working dog, sniffing out weapons, explosives and other kinds of trouble for U.S. Marines in Afghanistan. When his handler, Kyle Wincott (Robbie Amell), is killed, Max accompanies the body back to the U.S. and is even brought to Kyle's funeral. The dog formed such a strong bond with Kyle and was so traumatized by combat that he won't obey anyone else. But Max is relatively calm around Kyle's teenage brother, Justin (Josh Wiggins), so Justin's parents, Ray (Thomas Hayden Church) and Pamela (Lauren Graham) decide to adopt the dog.

Like it or not (mostly not), Justin is put in charge of taking care of Max. Justin learns a few tricks from a girl named Carmen (Mia Xitlali), the cousin of his best friend, Chuy (Dejon LaQuake), and in a very short time, Max is off leash and following Justin and his friends as they daringly ride their bikes through the woods near their homes. Max seems to be warming up to everyone except Tyler Harne (Luke Kleintank), a boyhood friend of Kyle's and fellow Marine who was since returned from Afghanistan. Whenever Max sees Tyler, he wants to attack. Carmen tells Justin that dogs are usually good judges of character. Justin also senses that there is something not right about Tyler, even as Ray hires Tyler to work for him. Justin approaches another Marine dog handler (Jay Hernandez) for information about Tyler and does some deep forest reconnaissance of his own, with Max in tow. I don't want to reveal too much, so I'll just say that Justin's and Max's instincts about Tyler are not wrong and what they discover in those woods jeopardizes their safety and that of their family and friends.

"Max" is an old-fashioned action-adventure, very much in the tradition of earlier canine movie stars. There are clear-cut good guy and bad guy characters. Right and wrong are well-defined and values like loyalty and self-sacrifice are front and center. There is danger (shown with impressive cinematography) and even death, but no blood – and no swearing or sexuality. This is family-friendly fare at its finest… almost. The first half of the movie is pretty slow. Some of the dialog is not just old-fashioned, it's distractingly trite and even a little silly. The performances from the adult cast members are strong, while the teenagers' acting is barely adequate. But those complaints matter less and less as the film progresses, especially if you're looking for a movie without the R-rated and even PG13-rated on-screen pitfalls that concern many parents. And I heard they're already planning a sequel in which Max has rabies. They're going to call it "Mad Max". (Sorry, couldn't resist.) But seriously folks, "Max" is the kind of movie Hollywood rarely makes these days. It's a throwback, and an imperfect one at that, but is one the whole family can enjoy. "B"

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griffolyon12 from United States
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Max very well might be this generation's Rin Tin Tin, both are German Shepherds and both are the heroes of their respective stories. The titular Max starts out as a military dog in Afghanistan, but when his military handler dies, he returns to the States with dog PTSD to be cared for by the handler's family in Texas, and in particular their teenage son, Justin, who Max bonds with. This is a classic boy and dog story with a military angle to it that helps to differentiate it from the rest of the pack, with Justin and Max eventually embarking upon an adventure of sorts that requires all of Max's incomparable skills to save the day. This is the kind of family movie that isn't made anymore, it's clean cut and old-fashioned, and while it has some plot holes, there aren't many movies that you can take the whole family to anymore and that's why Max is special.

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helgasvavars from Vancouver, BC
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I just saw Max yesterday at a screening in Vancouver and I loved it. After having watched the trailer I came in with low expectations, the story didn't seem very interesting and I wondered what they could do with the simple story line but I was pleasantly surprised. The film is very heart warming and entertaining. It had some action in it but the setup is very simple.There are no fancy computer graphics just good people/actors and a dog that's hard not to fall in love with. Its a feel good movie that's lovely to watch with family. The acting was good, I would recommend seeing this movie and will probably watch it again sometime.

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korgman-13117 from NC
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Don't let those Rotten Tomato critics sway you. This was a great movie and I am an adult who is also a veteran and German Shepherd Dog owner. While I thought it was going to be more about the dog adapting to civilian life it was something a lot different. I still liked the story and action scenes with the dog. The storyline actually had me guessing which I like in a movie. Even though most of the main characters were kids, it took me back to my days as a kid and when I had my first dog. Anyway, this movie will hopefully show people that dogs are actually very smart creatures and how we as humans need to find the best ways in order to provide them homes and prevent unwanted litters of pups. My dogs have never failed me while people have so many times. It's just a good feel good movie that people need to take in once in awhile.

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stephendaxter
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Max is a film following a dog whose owner was killed in battle and gets moved to stay with the family of his late owner. However, like people he suffered from PTSD and so he found it difficult to be around other people and trust anyone. And that was the aspect i loved about this film, seeing how the war affected this dog and how it affected his relationship with the people around him. They did a great job at capturing the emotions of this dog, and really showing how these events affect dogs in the same way they affect the soldiers. You really get to see how it affects him through his interactions with the various characters in the film, especially Justin; the brother of the deceased played by Josh Wiggins. The scenes where his and Max's relationship is being explored are definitely the highlights of the film and most of that is in the first third to half of the film. But i felt that the film wasted the perfect opportunity to really go in detail about how Max adjusts to trusting people other than Justin as he trusts Justin right from the beginning. After the first act, a lot of the character development was actually focused on Justin and some other life decisions he faced, now although some of this was interesting i felt that it lowered the importance of Max's transformation a little.

Where the biggest flaw with this movie lies is the plot, it is mostly fine for the first act or so but after that they bring in this side plot involving some secondary characters you don't want to really see. They begin to show up here and there and they were also useful for Max's transformation at one point. But then it just takes over the film in the last act and it turns into a completely different movie that really didn't fit the tone of the rest of the movie. It felt messy and turned into your generic good guy bad guy film where the family dog pitches in and helps out a little. During the entire third act, Max undergoes a pretty important change that i feel was rushed and not focused on when it was a big thing early in the film, and that kinda bugged me. How i would describe this film is, if you take the PTSD elements and all of the emotional family relationship stuff from American Sniper and get rid of the war moments and replace them with a generic young kid takes on the bad guys story you have this movie. So in the end, this film really captured my attention with depicting Max, his relationship with the people around him especially Justin, but it lost me with a sloppy, generic side plot that takes over a lot of the movie. - 4.5

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larkinoz-96386 from Tweed Heads, Australia
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This is a fine dog movie and good for the family without foul language and sex. Movies like this are so important because they remind us of how important dogs and other fellow animals are to us and how many of our human lives they have saved. Throughout history we have used animals like dogs, horses - even pigeons - to aid us in wars. Many thousands have been killed or slaughtered. Some have been recognised as the heroes they are but all to often these dear and faithful friends have been regarded as "things" and not sentient beings with feelings and emotions, beings that give us unconditional love and obedience. There have been better dog movies made in the past but Max is good and worth watching. Max is also a tribute to war dogs generally and hopefully will open some minds to the close relationship that exists between man the animal and his other animal friends.

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chelseylevett from Canada
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Honestly, this movie was perfect. It had a great story. I don't usually cry in movies. It made me tear up a lot and i couldn't stop my self. I really recommend anyone who loves dogs or you know someone who worked in the army or something to watch this. It's a great movie kids. It even had some laughs in their too which was great. Everyone will enjoy this. Im 18 and so is my boyfriend and he teared up too :). I would definitely go see this again for my self .Also when i first watched the trailer i had to see it and counted the day for it to come out thats how excited i was to see it, it looked really good! And once again i recommend you watch this movie with your family ( and dog)

dog|afghanistan|u.s. marine|death of marine|belgian malinois|dog adoption|man dog relationship|friendship|dog actor|one word title|character name in title|

AKAs Titles:


Certifications:
Canada:PG (British Columbia) / Ireland:12A / Philippines:G / Singapore:PG / South Korea:All / Sweden:11 / UK:12A / USA:PG (certificate #49515)