A.X.L. (2018)

A.X.L. (aka A-X-L) review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

I’d like to say that a film such as A.X.L. wasn’t just a mere boy and his robot story. Perhaps I still hold out some hope that a film of this subgenre will one day reach the heights of The Iron Giant for providing an emotional core to a familiar formula. I write this only because have some faith that one day a film will come that close to greatness and not feel so cold and contrived as this picture which seems to have put more thought into the motocross aspect and the robot dog visual effects than anything else.

For one, the whole idea of the titular robot dog A-X-L doesn’t seem very practical, even his name being ridiculous for standing for Attack, Exploration, Logistics. There’s a very convoluted and needlessly long explanation given as to why the American government was developing such a creation, that the artificial intelligence project was one based on the history of dogs being useful on the battlefield. A-X-L escapes and goes hiding in the dusty American mountains. Turn your head and squint and the metal monster kind of looks like a dog. Squint further and you’d almost mistake his sniffing (?) and fetching antics as that of a puppy.

Discovering the dog is teen motocross athlete Miles (Alex Neustaedter), coming branded with your standard issue older teen appeal kit. His hair is long, his drive is strong, he attracts cartoonish bullies of the track that want him dead, and tries to impress local hot girl Sara (Becky G). His life is a real drag despite being a rather talented motocross competitor; his dad wants him to do more with his life and those bullies just can’t resist a good cackle at Miles taking a tumble in the dirt. But in comes the dog and things seem to turn around for him, especially when Miles can train A-X-L rather easily. Now there’s a robot dog who can be playful around Sara and savage around threatening bullies.

From there, the script pretty much writes itself. The corporation developing the dog comes knocking and it isn’t long before Miles finds himself defending the supposedly-cute mecha dog from being thrown back into his cage. There’s no surprises here. Everything within A.X.L. is assembled from used parts to create a rather rickety picture that while functioning still struggles to get moving with a story gunked up in cliches. Every character feels like a cog, snuggly fitting into their roles with greasy exposition to get them to where they need to be. Miles is dull, Sara is forgettable, the bullies are too dumb for even a 1980s comedy, and A-X-L has so little personality past the doggy traits he could easily blend into the bland bunch of Michael Bay’s Transformers.

It’s not the least bit shocking that this movie was based on a short film. It’s a story that could have been unique as a shorter tale, avoiding this film’s many pitfalls of characters most dull and expository. The result is a film that even 98 minutes is a slog to get through with dreary writing trying to plow ahead to its showcase of a visual effects robot dog jumping and snarling. Some neat stunts can be found and here and there but when there’s so little to the characters, how much do I really care that Miles lands his bike or A-X-L escapes the mean old scientists? It’s a film that is sure to be doomed to the ever-growing pile of cheap and forgettable dog movies, only notable for its heftier budget of $10 million that would not be made back. The best I can say of A.X.L. is that it certainly is a cool poster of a boy and his robot dog. If only the film felt that fantastical more than artificial.