In recent years, we've seen a plethora of teen angst films to please a huge demographic of moviegoers. The list is extensive: "The Twilight Saga", "Divergent", "The Maze Runner" to mention a few, but now with "A-X-L" in the offing, can we expect to see a series as with the aforementioned films?
A-X-L is a top secret, robotic dog created by the military to help protect tomorrow's soldiers. Code named by the scientists who created him, A-X-L stands for Attack, Exploration, Logistics, and embodies the most advanced, next-generation artificial intelligence. After an experiment goes awry, A-X-L is discovered hiding alone in the desert by a kind-hearted outsider named Miles Hill (Alex Neustaedter), who finds a way to connect with him after activating his owner-pairing technology. Together, the two develop a special friendship based on trust, loyalty and compassion. Helping Miles gain the confidence he's been lacking, A-X-L (voiced by Dorian Kingi) will go to any length to protect his new companion, including facing off the scientists, specifically Andric (Dominic Rains) who created him and will do anything to get him back. Knowing what is at stake if A-X-L is captured, Miles teams up with a smart, resourceful ally named Sara (Becky G) to protect his new best friend on a timeless, epic adventure for the whole family.
Others to round out the cast are Thomas Jane as Chuck Hill, Miles' dad, Ted McGinley as Mr. Fontaine, Alex MacNicoll as Sam, Mr. Fontaine's son, Lou Taylor Pucci as Randall, Eric Etebari as Operative Berman, Hassie Harrison as Kirsten and Maggy Vick as Pam.
This was surprisingly well written and directed by Oliver Daly ("Miles" (short) '15). His direction was amazingly well executed in that other than a short, he is a virtual newcomer in helming a feature film. The pathos he was able to extract from his lead actor and the chemistry between he and A-X-L was truly well delineated. With no other experience under his belt in the director's chair, I am really excited to see what he will do next, and there will be a next. Again, as with his direction, his writing is extremely well orchestrated. Considering this is his first feature film to write, it was tight, concise and flowed well. Other than a some areas of slowness in script, this was able to convey what it wanted its audience to receive and leave us wanting more. I haven't seen many seasoned screenwriters write this well, so those writers should take note. Whereas the recent "Alpha" told us a story of the origins of 'man's best friend', this enabled us to see how 'man's best friend' could evolve into what we see on the screen.
What makes this story move along is, of course, A-X-L, beautifully designed by Legacy FX through the eyes of John Rosengrant and his team. This is a stunning, high tech creation which rules the screen, however doesn't dominate. and the visual effects were designed by Iloura Studios and were seamless.
This film has so much to offer: adventure, action, heart, compassion all rolled into one movie. It's a film the whole family can enjoy while being entertained. And not to spoil, but this definitely leaves its audience with an open door of continuation, but isn't this something that Hollywood is really good at anyway?
Out of 4 Stars: 3 Rated: PG 108mins.
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