Max

How a sweet story about a boy and his dog turns into a lame thriller about backwoods weapons dealing is anyone's guess.

Lost in this shuffle of bullets and narrow misses is Yakin's stated goal of telling a story about the great service that military dogs provide... I'm not sure where that film went, but the bizarre, violent mess I saw isn't it.

A watchable but predictable family film drenched in stars-and-stripes piety - Lassie Come Home with combat stress.

Hey buddy, if you don't like it here, go and live in Russia (or its 21st century equivalent).

Woof.

This drama is an intensely patriotic affair, which plays at times like a canine version of Clint Eastwood's American Sniper.

There's a little more violence than your usual early teen flick but it still stays within the realm of family-friendly film.

Feels like a direct-to-DVD movie that somehow escaped the pound and made it's way to theatres.

Max is cynical, joyless, and filled with surprising violence.

Filled with emotion, the joys of summer, the excitement, and thrill of adventure, there's nothing quite like the story of a boy and his dog.