Who's A Good Dog? "Max"

Max (2015)

Rated PG

Starring Josh Wiggins, Thomas Haden Church, Lauren Graham, Mia Xitlali, Luke Kleintank, Dejon LaQuake, Robbie Amell,

Written and Directed by Boaz Yakin

The Story:

When Marine Dog Handler Kyle Wincott (Amell) is killed in action, his dog Max comes to the funeral. Max is very loyal and misses Kyle, so much so that the Marines really can't use him anymore. Somehow, Max bonds with Kyle's brother, Justin (Wiggins). Justin doesn't care for the dog, but as time passes, the two begin to bond. However, when one of Kyle's friends (Kleintank) comes back to town, Max begins to act strange, and Justin begins to learn things that put his life in danger.

Based on a true story needs to be said upfront, though I'm sure it's more the dog at the funeral than the conspiracy over how the Marine was killed.

Boaz Yakin crafts another fine tale as both writer and director, but he's been doing that for some time now.

The movie balances fairly nicely between a coming of age / boy and his dog / murder mystery subplots that get equal time without really shortchanging or sabotaging anything.

It's possible that the murder mystery could have easily been dropped and the movie would still have been enjoyable, but it's a nice treat that what is essentially a family movie can also delve into some darker areas.

A great cast, but it's easy to see how this was overlooked in theaters and dismissed as a Made for TV movie.

That's a shame because it is indeed worth a look.

Final Grade: B-