On Aug. 24, “A-X-L” ran into movie theatres leaving mixed responses among moviegoers.
The movie opens with a short infomercial from the government about what A-X-L is and what its purpose is. Viewers learn that A-X-L stands for Attack, Exploration, and Logistics. It is a government program that combines artificial intelligence with the characteristics of man’s best friend. In short, A-X-L is a robotic dog.
A minute later, the commercial-like entrance ends, and moviegoers are transported to a first-person view of a motorcycle race where we get to meet most of the human characters of the film. They are introduced to Miles(Alex Neustaedter), an aspiring-professional racer who is only behind his fellow racers due to his lack of funds and sponsorship. He is led by his father Chuck (Thomas Jane) who works as a mechanic, continually supporting his son in the racing sport as opposed to forcing him to go to college. Moviegoers also meet the soon-to-be love interest Sara (Becky G), as she helps Milesfix his bike after the chain broke, allowing him to win the race.
Andric (Dominic Rains) attempts to get Miles (Alex Neustaedter) to surrender what control he has in regards to A-X-L. Credit: Global Road Entertainment
This win angers fellow biker Sam (Alex MacNicoll) who plots to embarrass Milesby making his bike falter as Miles makes a jump during some free riding a couple of days after that significant race.
Miles’ wounded ego, however, leads him to a junkyard where he meets A-X-L. At first, A-X-L is hostile and believes Miles to be a threat, but afterMilesfixes him up, A-X-L begins to trust him and soon pairs with Miles. This pairing between the robot dog and Miles compares to the bonding a dog will have with its owner.
This pairing isn’t exactly safe. A-X-L is a government project, and the government, led by captain Alicia Webber (Marie-Francoise Theodore), soon gets involved in trying to get A-X-L back into their hands. A-X-L is supposed to be a military aid, allowing for the soldiers who pair with the robotic dog to have the upper hand in battle. It is well understood that A-X-L should be more of a weapon than a pet.
Overall, “A-X-L” has a straightforward plot and is very predictable. The main story is about the bond between Miles and A-X-L and why the government created A-X-L. The romantic subplot was very apparent, and the ending of the movie is foreshadowed pretty early.
While those things can create an issue for some, it allowed the movie to delve into the man’s best friend theme. At points of the film, the emotion between the human and robot emulated what it would be like between human and real-life dog; it did feel genuine.
Miles (Alex Neustaedter) and Sara (Becky G) share a bittersweet moment after putting A-X-L back together. Credit: Global Road Entertainment
This simple plot also allowed for some decent use of CGI. A-X-L looked realistic enough and had the lope of a dog but kept to the confines of what metal can do (as opposed to muscle and bone). There was no curling into a ball, but he enjoyed to run and jump as any regular dog would.
The movie also had strengths and weaknesses in its score and soundtrack. For some scenes, the music reflected the views perfectly where higher risks needed faster, hard pounding music. It felt like anything could happen. For other scenes, there seemed to be a disconnect where the music tended to get very overdramatic for a view that didn’t need that extra drama.
“A-X-L” is a family-oriented movie. It is great to watch with the younger ones, and even the grandparents, but watching “A-X-L” as something serious would only lead to disappointment. It is very much one of those children’s films that will leave viewers with small smiles on their faces and small lessons to be learned.
“A-X-L” isn’t a life altering movie, but it is a cute hour and 40 minutes to pass if one is looking for something light-hearted.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 paws
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