Max (2015)

A Malinois dog that helped American Marines in Afghanistan returns to the United States and is adopted by his handler's family after suffering a traumatic experience.

Director:

Boaz Yakin

Writers:

Boaz Yakin, Sheldon Lettich

Stars:

Thomas Haden Church, Josh Wiggins, Luke Kleintank

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Thomas Haden Church	...	Ray Wincott
Josh Wiggins	...	Justin Wincott
Luke Kleintank	...	Tyler Harne
Lauren Graham	...	Pamela Wincott
Robbie Amell	...	Kyle Wincott
Mia Xitlali	...	Carmen
Dejon LaQuake	...	Chuy
Jay Hernandez	...	Sergeant Reyes
Owen Harn	...	Deputy Stack
Joseph Julian Soria	...	Emilio
Raymond W. Beal	...	Animal Control Handler #1 / Marine (as Raymond Beal)
Edgar Arreola	...	Cartel Leader
Jason Davis	...	Police Officer (as Jason Alexander Davis)
Pete Burris	...	S-2 Major
Miles Mussenden	...	Captain

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

dog | dog movie | death of marine | dog adoption | man dog relationship | 

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Taglines:

Best Friend. Hero. Marine.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Fantasy | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for action violence, peril, brief language and some thematic elements

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 June 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

Max: Bester Freund. Held. Retter.

Filming Locations:

Asheville, North Carolina, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,155,254, 28 June 2015, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$42,652,003, 11 October 2015

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM),Sunswept Entertainment,Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In one scene, you can see that Justin has a poster on his wall of an MMO game called Guild Wars 2

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Goofs

At the end of the movie, the flag in the window shows a blue star. Since the son died while in service, it should be a gold star. Blue star flags are for families of live service members while gold star flags are for families of service members that died.

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Quotes

Ray Wincott: I wanted to tell Kyle, I wanted him to know the truth. But the way he looked at me, the way he looked up to me... I just couldn't do it. A hero always tells the truth no matter what people think about him or no matter what the consequences are. And you have always been that way Justin.

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Connections

References The Addams Family (1964)

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Soundtracks

Back Home
Written by Andy Grammer & Ryan Metzger
Performed by Andy Grammer
Courtesy of S-Curve

User Reviews

Speed Review

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.