A-X-L is a “man’s best friend” movie about a boy and his dog…actually “a boy and his robot dog.” A-X-L is the first full feature length film from the director Oliver Daly. A-X-L is a robotic weapon built by the US military to pair with soldiers and take out enemies. Miles, a motocross racer stumbles upon the robot dog in the desert after A-X-L escapes from its compound. What ensues next is a jumbled and dull race to protect the life of a robot dog. I had no idea what to expect with this movie, but my internal feeling was not excitement. Disappointingly, my feelings became a reality early in the film.

Before reading this review keep a few things in mind. One, this is a kids movie. A-X-L sustained a PG rating for the primary cause of getting a younger audience. Second, this is a first outing for the director. This isn’t a huge blockbuster from an acclaimed director that flopped, but a kids movie that was pioneered by a fresh face. All that being said though, this move is terrible.

There has been a resurgence of “90s style movies” coming out this year and A-X-L is no exception. It absolutely has the feeling of Star Kid meeting a Michael Bay movie. It is devoid of emotional depth and sensibility. All the characters in the film make terrible and stupid decisions that no sensible person would. I totally believe in people making dumb decisions in movies to drive the plot further, but the decisions in this move are so ridiculous I was just laughing at the absurdity of the situation. The entire premise of a boy wanting to keep a dog that literally has dozens of spinning razors in its mouth and tries to kill anyone he contacts is ridiculous.

Let’s talk about the design of A-X-L. Whoever designed the dog must have come out of a time machine from the early 90’s. The dogs design is laughable, and I could never take it seriously. There is a weird transition that takes place multiple times in the movie where the dog is sprinting and jumping around in CG but then moves back to the practical effect robot head that is clunky and stiff.

The acting was pretty mediocre but admirable with the situation they were involved in. With such a dull script and weak plot development, these young actors did their best.A-X-L is a boring outing from Director Oliver Daly. There are substantial edits that would have supported the film, but as I walked out of the theater I couldn’t help but feel as though this was a cash-out.