A.X.L.

Filmmaker Oliver Daly’s boy-and-his-dog film might better be called a young-jerk-and-his-robot-killer-dog movie. Miles (Alex Neustaedter), a teen who is into motocross racing and little else, is left stranded in the desert by Sam (Alex MacNicoll), a rich kid rival pretending to be his friend. Here Miles encounters A.X.L., which has escaped the lab of Andric (Dominic Rains), a mad scientist who is creating a metal canine as a next-generation "war dog" for the Defense Department (the acronym stands for Attack, eXploration, and Logistics). The boy fixes up the injured robot and, as with Androcles and the lion, the pair become fast friends. Sara (Becky G), the daughter of Sam’s housekeeper, joins the duo and all are threatened by Sam and his gang of goons, as well as Andric, who employs an army of jack-booted mercenaries and a bevy of drones to find and retrieve his would-be weapon. Although aimed at kids, A.X.L. is much too dark and nasty to be appealing as family fare, and while it offers hints of a sequel, that is unlikely to happen. Not recommended. (F. Swietek)