A.X.L. (2018) – Film Review
Well, this is a surprise.
I walked into this movie with such low expectations—like, Ghostbusters 2016 low—that, like that film, I really had no room to be anything but pleased with the result. Well, no…that’s not true; I’ve gone into movies before with a drag in my gait, just to be slapped in the face by the piece and by the door on the way out.
AXL (stylized A.X.L. or A-X-L, but, Good Lord, spare my poor fingers…) is not the typical schlock churned out by the seemingly-resurgent studio system, or the usual Open/Global Road disappointment. Max Steel, Midnight Sun, The Promise—no, that last one actually did pretty well with the senior crowd—tanked, critically and commercially. What I’m getting at is, I was used to one thing and, with AXL, I got something completely out of left field. This may not do any better, but let’s talk about why I was happy with AXL…
Made for just $10M, it’s impressive what the filmmakers did with the money they had. Hiring on Legacy Effects—an off-shoot of the late, great Stan Winston’s legendary creature effects studio—the sheer spectacle of the practical effects, alone, is enough to tick-up the rating another star. AXL, the character, is actually likable; he’s got personality, attitude, life in him. A lot of that’s due to the excellent puppetry and character design—I’ll link to their webpage, below. It’s like an Elliott-E.T. relationship he has with his guardian, or Luke and R2. Miles (Alex Neustaedter; USA Network’s Colony), himself, took a bit of getting used to—what, with his semi-blank stare and itchingly-squared shoulders—but once he got involved with AXL, the character met his stride. Becky G (Power Rangers (2017), Fox’s Empire) as Sara is a welcome addition. Hers is a pseudo-trope character, but she makes so much more of herself than that over the course of the story. She pulls Miles—and AXL—out of a few sticky situations, and offers up some trope-defying insights and heart.
The soundtrack is pretty cool, too. Mostly EDM, but it works with the story. I may actually seek it out. Sponsorship runs rampant through the piece—I’m surprised there weren’t more billboard cameos during the sweeping vista shots. Jokes aside, though, I appreciate the upstart approach to filmmaking, amid all the big-budget tosh. Couldn’t be more 2018 if it tried—social commentary, youth culture, et cetera—but, surprisingly, I found myself smiling a lot more often I was than rolling my eyes. I had a really good time in this; like Terminator (Judgment Day, one of the good ones), E.T., and my guilty pleasure, Transformers, rolled into one.
Plot-holes, conveniences, and untied ends, aside, I’d go so far as to call it Alpha 2.0.
Much more light-hearted and jumpy than the slower and thought-provoking Alpha, this piece is cool without being cooool; it doesn’t try too hard to be something other than what it is. It’s a movie for movies’ sake. Sometimes, that’s enough. Definite a family recommendation. A mostly-solid popcorn flick that made my day.
Final ‘Risk Assessment: ****/*. It’ll be a lot easier leaving August and summer behind, now, knowing this is under my belt.
Next review(s): Deadpool 2: The Super-Duper $@%!#& Cut, Kin (Aug. 31st)
LINK: Home of Legacy Effects, LLC [http://legacyefx.com/]
