Since 1997, Max Steel has existed as both a line of mildly successful Mattel toys, as well as a computer animated franchise that's been active and inactive over the past 16 years. You'd think a major feature film would have happened by now, and it certainly isn't for lack of trying, as we've been hearing about a live-action adaptation for years. All we have to prove that this project still exists is little more than photos to back up the whispers we'd been party to. That is, until today: as Max Steel has finally released its first, albeit international market, trailer. Take your first look at the newly reinvented franchise below.
MovieClips Trailers scored the first official look at Max Steel's international market ad campaign, and it's way different than the original forms of the series that you may vaguely remember. In the new and improved story, our protagonist is actually named Max, and he's palling around with an alien named Steel. After his father allegedly sacrifices himself to protect his son, Max is now charged with saving the world through the use of Steel's technology. Oh, and a really interesting looking suit of armor, because what sort of quest doesn't come with one of those these days?
Of course, every quest must have a villain, and Max Steel looks like it has a vaguely defined villain in its first look, courtesy of Andy Garcia's Dr. Miles Edwards. The way he scoffs at the notion that Max's father "wanted to save the world," sounds like a character that just drips of villainy. Much like Kelsey Grammer in Transformers: Age of Extinction, Garcia looks like he's having a lot of fun with playing the bad guy in this new toy franchise turned feature film. Though, one of the many advantages Transformers has over Max Steel is the fact that its source material has more cred than Max Steel does.
As far as looks go, Max Steel looks like it's a moderately budgeted affair, with effects decent enough to convince its target audience, while at the same time not breaking the bank. With the right release date, and a good enough marketing push, it could manage to become a surprise hit with audiences. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like that's in the cards, if the scheduled October 21st release date is still valid. Should that release date still be in the works, Max Steel will be going up against Ouija: Origin of Evil, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, and A Monster Calls. It would be a crowded field to say the least.
So Andy Garcia, evil aliens, and PG-13 ready humor are what Max Steel has to its credit in the fight for Earth's security, and the October box-office. Other films have made more out of less, but frankly, we're ready to see another trailer before we write this one off completely. What we can say though is that after all of the years in production and development hell, Max Steel does look like an actual, polished film, with some action sequences that could turn out to be spectacular.
Max Steel fights evil, and a bunch of other movies at the box office, on October 21st.
