Max Steel the Movie: Like the Toy That It Is

This was Mattel’s foray into the big screen. And sorry, it turned out to be dull.  Max Steel the movie is based on Mattel’s action figure. It plays out like a comic book with a teen boy being the central figure. He transforms into Max Steel, who dishes out energy waves to defeat his enemies. He does his superhero thing with an alien partner. Max is the boy, Steel is the alien.  That’s it!

Max and his mother moved back to their hometown for a new beginning (that sounds familiar doesn’t it). He discovers he has superpowers. His mom does not want to discuss anything about his father. Ergo, he knows nothing about him.  But, the people of this town knew a lot about his old man.

He could not explain why there were energy waves coming from his fingers. These waves cause Smartphones to turn off, fuses to pop, and vending machines to throw out their stocks. Consequently, a beautiful classmate falls for him. But, Max is baffled by his powers and does not give her the attention she wants.

Max is left confused by what is happening to him. He does not know whom to turn to for guidance.  Then comes Steel to save the day for him. He looks a cross between an alien and a robot. Steel is a flying white, bodiless Cyclops with sharp tentacles. Steel guides Max regarding his newfound abilities.  It acts as his coach. After guiding him, Steel tells him the story of how he got his superhuman powers. And, along with the explanation, he got to know who his father was.

According to steel, Max’s late father was a scientist of great stature. He was in the middle of a classified top secret study. Somehow, his father’s associate, a person named Dr. Miles Edwards, is connected to the study. Played by Andy Garcia, Edwards spent probably half of the film telling people that he is the ‘villain of the piece’. Somewhere along the film, viewers noticed that he was the villain of the film!

So, how did Max Steel came to be and saved the world from the ‘villain of the piece’. Simple, Max and Steel merged together and they became Max Steel! But, no one in the movie, not a single character, called the merger by that name. So, the movie is named Max Steel without an actual Max Steel in it.

You would probably think that these mergers would come often. It came far in between.  If there were one thing that could have saved this movie from doom, it would have been the special effects – since it was sci-fi. But, even in this aspect, the movie failed to do so.

This is a big letdown for Mattel fans. It should wake up the producers to come up with a better script and story next time around.