Max, a Belgian Malinois military working dog returns to America after serving in Afghanistan when his Marine handler dies. He is adopted by the family of his Marine handler as they mourn death and attempt to heal from their loss. ‘Max’ hit theaters on Friday, June 26. The Motion Picture Association of America rated the film PG.

Roger Ebert rated the film 2/4. IMDb rated it 7.6/10 based on reviews by 789 users. Rotten Tomatoes rated the film 38% on its Tomatometer with an average rating of 4.6/10 based on 56 reviews. It received 21 Fresh reviews and 35 Rotten reviews. Its Audience Score is 77% with an average rating of 4/5 based on 8,302 user ratings. The film runs for 1 hour and 51 minutes.

‘Max’ stars Josh Wiggins as Justin Wincott, Dejon LaQuake as Chuy, Thomas Haden Church as Raymond "Ray" Wincott, Robbie Amell as Kyle Wincott, Lauren Graham as Pamela Wincott, Luke Kleintank as Tyler Harne, Jay Hernandez as Sgt. Reyes, Miles Mussenden as Major Miles, Mia Xitlali as Carmen, Joseph Julian Soria as Emilio, Walid Hakim as Taliban Fighter, and Hayley Joplin as Bike Park Teen.

The film was directed by Boaz Yakin and produced by Karen Rosenfelt. The screenplay is by Sheldon Lettich and Boaz Yakin. The $20 million budget film features music by Trevor Rabin. Cinematography is by Stefan Czapsky. It was edited by Bill Pankow. Its production companies are Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, RatPac Entertainment, and Sunswept Entertainment. The film was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Reviews on Rotten Tomatoes:

“Yakin doesn't condescend to his audience, and infuses his plot with a surprisingly ambitious and revealing commentary about the experience of war,” wrote Manori Ravindran from Globe and Mail.

“Yakin executes the touching material with the expected serviceability,” wrote Danny King from Village Voice.

“Don't you sometimes want Cheetos? Well, "Max" is like a big bowl of them, with a dog to share them with. Who's such a good boy. Such a good boy,” wrote Stephen Whitty from Newark Star-Ledger.

“It might seem as though "Max" got its premise from heartstring-tugging YouTube videos of dogs at Army funerals, but the film is better than one might assume,” wrote Katie Walsh from Los Angeles Times.

“It counterbalances sentimentality with a dose of cynicism and, although the film's second half is considerably weaker than the first hour, it offers better entertainment than several big budget films clogging multiplex auditoriums,” wrote James Berardinelli from ReelViews.

“Max" can be corny, but writer-director Boaz Yakin makes it mostly work,” wrote Rafer Guzman from Newsday.

‘"Max" gets its job done, which is to celebrate the sacrifices of military dogs, while warming the cockles of your heart. Sugary though it may be, the movie is a spirited return to the values of 1950s Hollywood,” wrote Michael O’Sullivan from Washington Post.