Warner Brothers, the same studio behind last year's American Sniper, has now released Max"¦which is essentially American Sniper for children. With a pretty cute dog named Max. And it's hitting theaters just in time for the July 4 holiday, so I guess it's the studio's patriotic offering of the summer?
Regardless of those details, Max is a PG-rated war movie following a PTSD suffering war dog who has returned from Afghanistan after his handler gets killed. His handler's family ends up taking him in, and his handler's kid brother becomes his primary caregiver. And there are quite naturally some shenanigans involved that somehow include a drug cartel and a potentially questionable fellow Marine. For being a PG film, the plot gets oddly convoluted and long winded. Did we really need to have a military flair with a drug/gun running operation and some flavor of kidnapping? There was also this bizarre feeling of Lassie meets Homeward Bound meets some Rin Tin Tin story towards the final third of the film.
The performances from the actors are, at best, mediocre. As usual, the dog is the best part. The film does mislabel his breed -- he's a Belgian Malinois. His young compatriots, both older brother Kyle and kid brother/new owner Justin, fall just a bit flat on their own but shine a bit more when paired with their canine best friend. Carmen (Mia Xitlali) is the bright spot in the cast, as she provides some levity to some rather brainless decisions made by Justin and other cast members. Justin and Carmen together have some interesting chemistry and keep the film from being a complete snooze fest. Thomas Haden Church does quite well in his supporting role, but he isn't given a whole lot to work with and just seems like a curmudgeonly father who is grieving the loss of his son. Lauren Graham is just the mother who cooks and cries. Understandable, especially since that's all her role really seems to allow for. But I wish the writers had expanded on her role to give her something of substance to work with. Clearly she works somewhere in town since you see her dressed and with a name tag. But that's all we know.
As a native Texan, I have a bone to pick with these filmmakers. Who in their right mind is able to wear a jacket in Texas in July and not melt? Apparently multiple people in the Lufkin/East Texas area can, which is where Max is set. I beg to differ as I sit under my ceiling fan with the air conditioning on. Also, there's far more hills and ravines shown in this film, not to mention obscenely tall trees, than I believe the entire state of Texas has -- at least in the non-desert areas. And I think the "Mexico border" is a little too.... Anyway. Geography and accuracy are not the film's forte.
This film does serve as a timely and anecdotal reminder that some veterans do struggle with fireworks/sudden loud noises. As we enter the July 4 season, maybe we can all be a little more mindful and aware.
