Max McGrath (Ben Winchell) doesn't know much about his respected scientist father who died in a mysterious storm. His mother Molly (Maria Bello) brought him back to his father's old stomping grounds on the advise of colleague Dr. Miles Edwards (Andy Garcia). Max is a loner at school except Sofia Martinez befriends him. He's having strange effects and visions. Then an alien Steel escapes from his father's old lab and joins him. Max is emitting tachyon energy which, joined with Steel, is used to form the superhero Max Steel. Steel is an Ultralink alien and they end up battling other Ultralinks threatening to destroy the world.
I wouldn't say that this is horrible or irredeemable. It's simply weak stuff. Firstly, the Mattel name does not fill me with confidence. While Marvel and DC have gained credibility through some good work on the page and on the screen, Mattel has no such background. The very name denotes cheesiness on the big screen. I don't know anything about this IP's origins. The story is nothing special. There are a couple of first rate actors. There are a few twists. One is obvious from the start. Another one is head-scratching and less than reasonable. As an origin story, this is no Spider-man, Batman, or Superman. It's really another Young Adult movie at its heart and not terribly good even on that level. There are a few too many problems to overlook.
I wouldn't say that this is horrible or irredeemable. It's simply weak stuff. Firstly, the Mattel name does not fill me with confidence. While Marvel and DC have gained credibility through some good work on the page and on the screen, Mattel has no such background. The very name denotes cheesiness on the big screen. I don't know anything about this IP's origins. The story is nothing special. There are a couple of first rate actors. There are a few twists. One is obvious from the start. Another one is head-scratching and less than reasonable. As an origin story, this is no Spider-man, Batman, or Superman. It's really another Young Adult movie at its heart and not terribly good even on that level. There are a few too many problems to overlook.