Justin approaches another Marine dog handler (Jay Hernandez) for information about Tyler and does some deep forest reconnaissance of his own, with Max in tow. Justin also senses that there is something not right about Tyler, even as Ray hires Tyler to work for him. Carmen tells Justin that dogs are usually good judges of character. Whenever Max sees Tyler, he wants to attack. Max seems to be warming up to everyone except Tyler Harne (Luke Kleintank), a boyhood friend of Kyle's and fellow Marine who was since returned from Afghanistan.
Justin learns a few tricks from a girl named Carmen (Mia Xitlali), the cousin of his best friend, Chuy (Dejon LaQuake), and in a very short time, Max is off leash and following Justin and his friends as they daringly ride their bikes through the woods near their homes. Like it or not (mostly not), Justin is put in charge of taking care of Max. But Max is relatively calm around Kyle's teenage brother, Justin (Josh Wiggins), so Justin's parents, Ray (Thomas Hayden Church) and Pamela (Lauren Graham) decide to adopt the dog. The dog formed such a strong bond with Kyle and was so traumatized by combat that he won't obey anyone else. When his handler, Kyle Wincott (Robbie Amell), is killed, Max accompanies the body back to the U.S. Max (played by a dog named Carlos, who previously appeared in "Project Almanac") is a Belgian Malinois (a type of Belgian Shepherd) who is employed as a military working dog, sniffing out weapons, explosives and other kinds of trouble for U.S. So, can the hero dog in the movie "Max" (PG, 1:51) lay claim to the mantle of Strongheart, Rin Tin Tin and Lassie? That's a pretty tall order, but Max definitely fits the mold.
As the character (a dog named Pal and Pal's descendants), Lassie made several movies in the 40s and early 50s (and a few more since), had a radio show in the late 40s and starred in a very popular 1954-1973 television series, and made various TV appearances since. Of course, the most famous hero dog of all is the collie named Lassie. Both dogs' bloodlines survive to this day, with Rin Tin Tin's direct descendants appearing in films into the 1940s, and Rin Tin Tin XII still making public appearances.
A much more famous German Shepherd movie star was Rin Tin Tin, who appeared in over two dozen movies in the 1920s and early 30s.
A German Shepherd named Strongheart starred in a half-dozen silent films in the 1920s, including 1925's adaptation of the novel "White Fang". Hollywood's affinity for heroic dogs on the big screen dates back to the silent film era, but only a very few of those canine characters became famous.