Quartile rating: 5/10 · 1 rating
The adventures of teenager Max McGrath and alien companion Steel, who must harness and combine their tremendous new powers to evolve into the turbo-charged superhero Max Steel.
Max Steel is a generic, low-energy superhero origin story adapted from a Mattel toy line that failed to distinguish itself in any meaningful way. The plot hits every predictable beat of the teen-discovers-powers narrative without adding anything fresh. Acting is unremarkable across the board, with bland performances from leads Ben Winchell and Josh Brener. Cinematography is functional at best, with uninspired action sequences and flat visual staging. Novelty is low as it recycles well-worn superhero tropes with a forgettable alien-companion gimmick. The ending is particularly weak, feeling rushed, anticlimactic, and setting up a sequel that never came, leaving the film feeling incomplete.