Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Max Steel Blu-ray Movie Review

Min Entertainment.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 30, 2016

With great popularity comes the great flood of wannabes. The Superhero genre has not just exploded, it's become a mainstay of cinemas, dating back many decades with movies like Superman and Batman but really taking off with the release of X-Men in 2000 and, well, the story is widely known from there. Max Steel is the latest with aspirations of raking in Uncle Scrooge-levels of moolah, but even in this day and age of über-popularity, it seems audiences still have standards of excellence, standards the movie just could not meet. Sourced not from DC or Marvel properties but rather a toy and cartoon series from Mattel, the movie flopped in theaters, failing to recoup even its measly $10,000,000 budget and crawling in and out of multiplexes in the cinematic equivalent of a blink of an eye. And it's not hard to see why. Not a torturously bad movie but incredibly generic one and seemingly incapable of finding even a sliver of creativity, the film is an ungainly repurposing of the entire Superhero genre that's not only unoriginal, but poorly put together, too, a far cry from the technical excellence of the genre's best.

Wings Not Included.

Max McGrath (Ben Winchell) is a teenager who slowly learns that he's different from everyone around him. He can cause interference on electronic devices with a simple flick of the wrist or wave of the hand. The power -- an abundance of tachyon energy -- begins to overwhelm him. He has no choice to but to escape the public eye, to release the energy building inside in isolation. When he's at a breaking point of uncontrolled power, along comes a small alien robot called "Steel" (voiced by Josh Brener) that symbiotically works with Max to help him control his newfound abilities. As Max and Steel harness the power and the truth about who Max really is comes into focus, he finds himself at odds against a foe determined to steal his energy at any cost.

Max Steel suffers from a lengthy allotment of maladies, the most serious of which include plot transparency, plot unoriginality, tired direction, mediocre special effects, and the list goes on. It's incredibly basic, showing not even a smidgen of a soul as it plods away with repurposed narrative elements and character details and traits borrowed from other Superhero movies. Max is something of an amalgamation of Spider-Man's Peter Parker and Fantastic Four's Johnny Storm with a side of *batteries not included and Mac and Me that winds up being something along the lines of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. The movie fails to find anything of creative interest in any area, whether as Max discovers his powers, meets and bonds with Steel, harnesses his abilities, battles with the bad guy, gets the girl, or learns the truth. It's all been cobbled together from an old and outdated playbook that leaves the movie up (down?) there with the likes of Albert Pyun's Captain America as one of the lesser, most forgettable Superhero films of all time, but without the cheesy fun factor the worst of the worst so often manage to cultivate. No, this is just a flat, less-than-routine Superhero movie deemed to just be forgotten, the worst fate a movie can find.

That leaves precious little room for positives. The acting isn't at all impressive beyond Ben Winchell, who may not be in the same league as his Superhero lead peers but who does give an honest effort to find the character's center even through the deluge of mediocrity around him, both his co-stars in performance and his work as it's on the script. He's appropriately baffled, frightened, doubtful, and increasingly strong throughout the movie, following the typical arc of the nobody who, with a little help, becomes somebody through the course of the movie. Steel is a dull sidekick, voiced peculiarly in a Robert Picardo from Voyager sort of inflection that lacks that performance's even-keeled balance between light comedy and serious structure. Here, Steel falls more into campy kids movie territory, as if the voice from Flight of the Navigator regressed back to the second grade. It works well in that regard -- a lot of five-year-olds are probably going to love this movie -- but for others it's likely to be too hammy and simplistic to carry the movie anywhere of prominence. The film's name actors -- Maria Bello and Andy Garcia -- sleepwalk through the experience, the latter of whom will be pegged by even the least savvy of audiences from the moment he's introduced.

Max Steel Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Max Steel's 1080p transfer is technically fine. The image yields nothing remarkable or out of the ordinary, featuring a straightforward, digitally sourced picture. Detailing is fine, unexceptional by the highest standards but perfectly acceptable by average standards. Basic clothing and skin textures yield satisfactory textural definition. Colors are likewise fine, boasting pleasant neutrality and handling one of the more aggressive monochromatic moments well enough. Black levels produce pleasing depth and flesh tones show no signs of stray from natural. No source or encode flaws are blatantly obvious.

Max Steel Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Max Steel's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack packs a healthy punch and plenty of surround information. The presentation yields quality musical definition and spread around the stage, a balanced and nicely integrated surround structure that wraps the listener in the notes. There are no gaps in coverage, delivery is smooth, and clarity is as-expected of a new release film. A positive low end support lifts it higher, and that bottom end also delivers a satisfying punch and rumble during action scenes. The stage further springs to life with great intensity as various battles unfold. Cracks, crashes, and other effects pummel the stage with regularity and a fair bit of ferocity. Atmospherics are nicely defined as well, whether light school hallway clatter or more aggressive gusting winds and booming thunders. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized. Natural reverberation occurs when the environment allows.

Max Steel Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Max Steel contains four featurettes. A DVD copy of the film and a voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy are included with purchase.

• Finding Max (1080p, 4:24): A look back at casting Ben Winchell, the qualities he brought to the set and the film, physical training for the part, his dedication, and more.
• Imagining Steel (1080p, 3:37): Acting against a model Steel that will later be brought to life, digitally.
• Building the Suits (1080p, 3:05): A quick look at the movie's superhero suits.
• Behind the Stunts (1080p, 3:00): As the title suggests, this niece looks at making some of the movie's key and most complex stunt pieces.

Max Steel Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Max Steel follows formula to a fault. The story of a boy who makes a discovery about himself, tries to run from it, and ultimately accepts and harnesses his power -- with a little help from a friend and while trying to get the girl -- hardly makes for creative storytelling or movie watching, but if nothing else Max Steel has its heart in the right place. It's just completely unnecessary and almost humorously devoid of original content. Small children might enjoy it, but those seeking serious Superhero moviemaking should search elsewhere (it's not hard to find). Universal's Blu-ray is routine, featuring excellent audio, honest 1080p video, and a few brief featurettes. Skip it.