Rated PG for action violence, peril, brief language and some thematic elements.
Starring Lauren Graham, Thomas Haden Church, and Josh Wiggins
Directed by Boaz Yakin (Remember the Titans)
Max is a heart warming story that will almost certainly tug on your heart-strings.
A precision-trained military dog, Max serves on the frontlines in Afghanistan alongside his han-dler, U.S. Marine Kyle Wincott. But when things go terribly wrong on maneuvers, Kyle is mortally wounded and Max, traumatized by the loss of his best friend, is unable to remain in service. Shipped stateside, the only human he seems willing to connect with is Kyle’s teenage brother, Justin. Max is adopted by Kyle’s family, essentially saving his life, but Justin has issues of his own. As the pair race against time to unravel a mystery, they find more excitement and danger than they bargained for. But they each might also find an unlikely new best friend in each other.
I realize that this is a family/kids film so I don’t want to be too harsh on it. I loved the story of a military dog that needed to be rescued that ends up rescuing a family. That was pure gold. Where things derailed was the extreme situation Justin and his family found themselves in. Be-ing caught in arms trade seems to be a bit much for younger kids to grasp and was completely unbelievable for older teens and adults.
Josh Wiggins did a decent job but I also was fairly disappointed in the performances from Lau-ren Graham and Thomas Haden Church. Both performances felt forced and flat.
There were some scenes were they were clearly trying to tug on the heartstrings, but the most genuine scene was at Kyle’s funeral. That scene was execute perfectly and even made my eyes water a little.
I have to say I didn’t have extremely high expectations for this film, but I enjoyed most of it. It is a decent “Rental” for family movie night.
SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
Yes. This one is great for the entire family.
CONVERSATION STARTER
- How would you describe Justin when we first meet him?
- What were some of the things he did that were selfish?
- What were some of the things that changed in Justin?
- How did Justin go from being selfish to selfless?
- What are some things you can do this week to be more selfless?
Read Philippians 2:4
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Jonathan McKee
Jonathan McKee is the author of over twenty books including the brand new The Guy's Guide to FOUR BATTLES Every Young Man Must Face; The Teen’s Guide to Social Media & Mobile Devices; If I Had a Parenting Do Over; and the Amazon Best Seller - The Guy's Guide to God, Girls and the Phone in Your Pocket. He speaks to parents and leaders worldwide, all while providing free resources for youth workers on TheSource4YM.com. Jonathan, his wife Lori, and their three kids live in California.