Dogs act to the 'Max' in canine family drama
Boaz Yakin's "Max" ranks as one of the sincerest, freshest boy-and-his dog dramas I've ever seen, up until the ending when it implodes in a pile of cloying clichés and shallow manipulations that it had masterfully sidestepped up until then.
"Max" had within its grasp to become one of the better examples of its genre, up there with "Lassie Come Home," "My Dog Skip" and "Old Yeller."
No spoilers here, but for reasons that probably had more to do with box office concerns than dramatic ones, "Max" trades in its hard-earned, urgent realism for Hollywood hokum so transparent and silly, it elicited titters at a Monday night screening in Chicago.
At the start of "Max," we witness how bonded that Max, a highly trained Belgian Malinois dog, has become to his handler, U.S. Marine Kyle Wincott (Robbie Amell). On patrol in Afghanistan, Kyle and Max come under attack by hostile forces. Max survives.
Back in the USA, the Wincott family receives the terrible news. Kyle's mother, Pamela Wincott (Lauren Graham, who has cornered the market on cool moms since starring in "The Gilmore Girls"), is crushed.
Her husband Ray (Thomas Haden Church), himself a Marine veteran wounded in action, is grief-stricken, but also worried about his younger son Justin (Josh Wiggins), a teen who plays video games (plus illegally downloads them) while feeling inadequate in the shadow of his older brother's accomplishments.
Justin, a combination of teen rebellion plus sagging self-esteem, and his stoic, disciplined Dad don't get along.
Their worlds change with the arrival of Max, brought in for Kyle's funeral. Max barks at Kyle's casket before lying down next to the wooden box, his eyes clouded with sadness.
It's the first of many scenes that prove director/co-writer Yakin knows what he's doing in this classical "boy and his dog" drama, an inspirational, moving tale about the power of trust.
When officials intend to put Max down because he suffers from canine post traumatic stress syndrome, Justin, the only person Max will listen to, agrees to take the dog home.
How Max the dog and Justin the kid heal each other could have been sufficient for a heart-rending family drama, but Yakin, cowriting the screenplay with Sheldon Lettich (a Vietnam Marine veteran and co-writer of "Rambo III"), inserts a commercially attractive, yet protracted action subplot involving Kyle's corrupt best bud and fellow Marine, Tyler (Luke Kleintank).
He sold stolen military arms to bad guys while in Afghanistan. Now back home, Tyler continues to sell stolen arms to domestic bad guys.
Max, a discerning critter when it comes to human character, doesn't like Tyler much. So Tyler lies to Kyle's dad. He says the dog turned on Kyle and caused his death.
See? "Max" offers some real nail-biter moments. Also suspenseful dog fights, exciting chase sequences (especially a bike race through the forest), several weepy scenes, plus lots of humor and racial diversity in the cast.
Actor/musician Dejon LaQuake plays Justin's best pal Chuy, a spit-fire bike rider and brother to forceful, no-nonsense Carmen (the charismatic Mia Xitlali),
She and Justin generate restrained humor as they awkwardly try to ignore the obvious sparks between them, Both Xitlali and Wiggins possess an attractive, reserved quality that gives their characters more depth and sincerity than provided by the screenplay.
As good as the humans may be, this movie belongs to Max, or the six Belgian Malinois dogs that portray him.
They bark a lot in "Max," a movie in which the biggest bite comes at the end.
“Max”
. . .
Starring: Josh Wiggins, Thomas Haden Church, Luke Kleintank, Lauren Graham, Robbie Amell
Directed by: Boaz Yakin
Other: A Warner Bros. release. Rated PG. 111 minutes