Movie Review: A-X-L

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland

Michael's Movie Grade: C+

Review: An enjoyable little family film, though not without its faults still manages to keep the viewer's interest for the entire length.

What makes this film work most of all is our two main human characters. They may not be especially well thought out or complex, but they are likable. When they get in danger we truly care that they will make it out alright, because we easily buy them as good hearted people. While the robot dog, himself doesn't fully work, the characters' fondness for him feels real and believable, making us want him ok for their sake. This in turn makes the action scenes much more exciting. The visual effects are certainly on a budget but that still do their job very well and even impress at times. The basic story is a simple one and one that we have seen before plenty of times (Some of those times certainly done better), but it is well told, and still engaging.

Where this movie falters heavily is the robot dog himself. We are supposed to accept the idea that he is fully capable of and feels emotions, but are given no reason to believe this beyond our hero's saying he is. There is much dialogue that states that he is programmed to be loyal, but somehow we are supposed to think this loyalty comes from his emotions, rather than his programing. When a villain states that the dog is just a piece of machinery, we have no reason to doubt what he is saying when our hero tries to argue with him. All we have seen him do is exactly what he was programmed to do. With how much the drama is supposed to depend on us believing this character is truly feeling emotions, makes the lack of evidence a huge fault. Also hurting this movie is that too much of the opening Motocross seems to have no relation to anything that happens later, making it feel pointless.


-Michael J. Ruhland