MAX CLOUD (2020)

MAX CLOUD (2020)

Tagline:  Terror - the whole family can enjoy.

(Sci-Fi, Action, Comedy) [PG]

Quiet Rexy, quiet, we need to freak out quietly...

Note – This movie didn’t get an actual MPAA rating. I am just calling it a PG due to some profanity because that’s probably where they would have put it if they weren’t so lazy, or perhaps just never got the chance to categorize this movie. This movie is also known as the INTERGALACTIC ADVENTURES OF MAX CLOUD so it’s possible you may see this thing under that title.  

This one is about a gamergirl named Sarah (played by Isabelle Allen) who is playing a video game and ends up getting sucked into the game. She is trapped in a ship with the game's hero on a planet full of prisoners. To escape the game she must team up with Max Cloud (played by Scott Adkins known for DOCTOR STRANGE), Rexy (played by Sally Collett), and Cowboy (played by Franz Drameh known for ATTACK THE BLOCK) who is a friend that has taken over the game from her bedroom on earth. Can they overcome the galaxy’s most dangerous villains to bring Sarah home? 

In regards to the budget, you can tell this movie didn’t have a huge one. A lot of the production value feels very DARK MATTER-ish if you are familiar with that sci-fi TV show, only with a lot more led lights that look like they belong in a Dave & Busters. Having said that the setting works, this movie isn’t trying to be some big-budget blow your mind movie. It’s trying to convey a live fictitious 90’s style video game that doesn’t appear to have a very well thought out plot. Max Cloud himself is a pretty cool “Buzz Lightyear” type character that talks mostly in 3rd person who is also sexist but in an intentional throwback way. The action sequences are goofy but fun and again – if you can get to the point where you embrace they are just acting out a video game it’s actually pretty fun. 

I kind of thought it was cool that they got the ultra-versatile John Hannah in this. He is probably best known for THE MUMMY series. His acting is over the top on purpose playing the game's main villain. 

One odd choice I thought was that Sarah is hardly in this. We hear her voice throughout the movie, but her video game character is a guy. So in that respect, we get a bit of a JUMANJI type situation here. The movie highlights the fact that the majority of the bad guys are generic space ninja types. This was common in games of the time. I think if I was directing this thing I would have changed that up a bit just to give the audience a bit more variety visually. 

There are a few cool little details in the movie. During one scene Sarah is giving the background of the main villain. It’s quite a story and it seems doubtful that she would remember it, but Cowboy is holding the games manual in the next scene kind of showing the audience all that information was in there. They also give Max Cloud a backstory which is another nice touch. 

MAX CLOUD is not going to blow anyone’s mind. It feels a lot more like a TV special you might see on the Disney Channel that wasn’t meant a theatrical release. 

I give MAX CLOUD a 4 out of 7. It manages to be pretty fun, comical and even has some moments of heart that fit nicely into the package we are given. 

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF GOLDFINCH PICTURES AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

Please check out the link below by clicking on the picture. Because no one should die buttonless.