Predictable Max is still a boy's best friend

A well-trained dog carries out its duties with loyalty and selflessness, qualities a boy will not come by without discipline and instruction. Max tells the story of a boy who through friendship with a dog recognizes his obligation to act as an honorable son.

Like many 15-year-old boys, Justin Wincott (Josh Wiggins) isolates himself from relationships and responsibility. He sasses his parents and hides out for hours in his not-yet-a-man cave, playing video games. He “rips” the latest releases and sells bootleg copies to Emilio (Joseph Soria), the resident hoodlum in the Wincotts’ small Texas town.

Justin’s older brother, Kyle (Robbie Amell), a dog handler in the Marines, dies while on patrol with his squad in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province. The Marines plan to euthanize Kyle’s shell-shocked dog, Max, who can no longer perform as trained. But at Kyle’s funeral, the Belgian Malinois takes an immediate liking to his fallen handler’s younger brother. Justin reluctantly agrees to care for Max.

Not long after the funeral, the Marines dishonorably discharge Tyler (Luke Kleintank), Kyle’s childhood friend and fellow Marine. Questions surrounding Kyle’s death swirl around Tyler when he returns home. Through Emilio, Tyler continues his black market trade in stolen arms, selling confiscated AK-47s and RPGs to Mexican drug cartels. Tyler invites Justin to join him: “Kyle always wanted to be a hero. Me, I’m a realist—I know which way the world turns. Which one are you going to be?”

Max (rated PG for action violence, peril, brief language, and some thematic elements) tackles family strife, racial prejudice, and criminal mischief in a lightweight and predictable but wholesome manner. (Warning: Some of the violent scenes border on a PG-13 rating.) After Justin nurses Max back to health, his new canine companion faithfully accompanies him in his search for answers about his brother and himself.

Tween and younger teen boys will enjoy the dirt bike chases and canine antics. Many dads will see themselves in Justin’s father, Ray (Thomas Haden Church), struggling to relate to a son who is beating a path to independence. And parents will applaud the film connecting the dots from idle hands to petty crimes to more serious illegal activity.