A-X-L
Another boy and his dog story, except the dog is a robotic killing machine created by an amoral arms manufacturer for the United States military. What could possibly go wrong?
The answer, unsurprisingly, is a lot and none of it has much to do with the details of the plot of this strange film. “A-X-L” wants its eponymous dog to be both cute and menacing, depending on whatever mode the screenplay by director Oliver Daly calls for at any given moment. And Daly tries out a few different modes here, taking it from a generic tale of a teenage dirt bike racer who feels stuck in his life and bonds with the robot, to a story about hiding the dog from various locals and the evil arms mogul’s mercenaries, to an all out horror movie, in which the robot tries to brutally murder some jerk teenager who had earlier tried to kill it for funsies and page views.
We’re introduced quickly to AXL (pronounced “Axle“) in a helpful introductory computer simulation/marketing slideshow. The acronym stands for “attack,” “exploration,” and “logistics,” so it can show off its skills with radar or just also just shoot you up with that giant gun there. The war machine was designed by Andric Craine (Dominic Rains) as based on dogs serving as companions/helpers to human warriors throughout history. It can bond with one owner and form a love that’s as deep as any natural dog.
It gets loose and eventually finds Miles (Alex Neustaedter), our bike racer who doesn’t see any way out of his current life. He races bikes; his dad Chuck (Thomas Jane) manages his racing career and works in an auto shop; he’s supposed to think realistically about his future but he doesn’t think he’s smart enough to go to college so yeah character development isn’t really Miles’ thing.
After being ditched in the desert by Sam (Alex MacNicoll), a well-funded competitor who is jealous of Miles’ talent, Miles stumbles across AXL hiding in a freight crate. Once they get past the initial awkward misunderstanding of the robot trying to kill him for invading its territory, Miles fixes up the damaged artificially intelligent dog (which seems to be damaged and incapacitated quite a lot for an advanced weapon of war). The two become friends or whatever, and the robot helps out a fair amount as Miles tries to win over Sara (Becky G), who is Sam’s family housekeeper’s daughter.
The dog is portrayed through an odd combination of sleek visual effects (for when it goes into action) and ungainly puppetry (whenever it’s shot in close-up) you can tell because the puppet looks bulkier and much ricketier in its movements than its digital counterpart, which smoothly runs and leaps and flies through the air with jet bursts. In other words: It never feels like a real thing, because it always looks like the dog is either just a special effect or just a puppet, and also because Daly makes it abundantly clear whenever he switches between those two things.
As for the plot, there’s not much of one. They try to hide the robot while they decide what to do with it. Craine watches AXL bond with Miles through the robot’s eyes, thinking he’s stumbled upon a human test subject (“Let’s see how this plays out,” he says, watching AXL pin Miles’ bully to the ground and threaten him with the sharp, whirring gears in its mouth). Miles and Sara keep fixing it up, as Craine’s corporate goons close in on them. Chuck gives some sane advice to his son about playing around with a machine that was designed to kill, while Craine’s right hand man (played by Lou Taylor Pucci) cries about his boss’ unethical behavior.
Of course Daly doesn’t have any genuine concerns about the ethical dilemma of this dog’s existence. The robot is as much a tool for the filmmaker as it is for the villain. The dog is supposed to be loveable, its red eyes switching to a neon blue whenever it finds a new friend or plays fetch; or a ruthless killing machine, such as when it hunts Sam like some stalking killer in a horror movie (even popping into frame with rough barks and sharp, metal teeth to scare the kids in the audience into their parents’ arms).
What lacks is any real personality from either the robot (or human characters). After all that violent standoff/chase business, “A-X-L” promises us (good luck with that) a sequel and an improved dog. Maybe work on its temperament first.
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