A.X.L.: Review by @Kush_Hayes

“A boy and his dog” seems to be a theme in 2018, starting with #IsleOfDogs, last weeks #Alpha and now #AXL.

A.X.L. stands for Attack - eXploration - Logistics and is a program designed by the US Military in order to assist combat soldiers

with tracking targets, carrying cargo and if need be deploy weapons and eliminate threats. Considering this is a family film that seems kind of like a heavy topic for kids under 10. However this use to be a constant in old family movies in the 80s kids my age would see on #VHS cassettes.

The movie DARYL from 1985 about a family who finds what they think is an orphaned boy but who is really a robot… built by the US Govt… designed to look like a child… for the purposes or blahblahblah - it was an entertaining movie in its time, not sure how it would hold up in 2018…

… However we have A.X.L. now.

The plot points are pretty by the numbers, thats not a bad thing either.

Boy rides dirt bike in the desert. Boy crashes dirt bike. Jerks leave Boy in the desert.

Boy finds robot dog. Robot dog tries to kill boy. Boy tames robot dog. Boy uses robot dog to meet girl. Girl has jealous jerk constantly throwing salt in boys game. The Military comes in with guns and helicopters, on top of Robot Dogs creator/owner turning into a mad scientist over the course of the 1hr 40min feature.

Im glad I saw this over Happytime Murders. The actors did their job. The story was fun. Id tell Lil Brother Hayes his kid could watch this. The CGI was good, and while the Practical AXL puppets were 50/50 I appreciated seeing them.

Take the Iron Giant, D.A.R.Y.L., War Games, Skateboard Kid, and sprinkle in some Terminator and thats A.X.L. in a nutshell.

Four out of Six Blueberries

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