It tells the story of a teenage boy who encounters a robotic dog created from cutting edge military technology.

A-X-L is a top-secret, robotic dog created by Andric, a Craine Systems scientist, to assist and protect soldiers.

Code-named A-X-L ("Attack, exploration, Logistics") by the scientists who created it, the robot embodies advanced next-generation artificial intelligence.

Becoming himself bonded with A-X-L, Miles teams up with the smart, resourceful Sara Reyes to protect his new best friend.

A-X-L presents Miles with a device which takes a blood sample and completes the pairing process.

A swarm of drones arrives and disables A-X-L; Miles and Sara are captured and delivered to Craine Systems.

Sara manages to convince A-X-L not to attack her, by reminding him of how she drew a feather at the hideout.

Six weeks later, Andric has been imprisoned for violating national security and endangering the lives of civilians.

Sara and Miles have gone to college with scholarships provided by the military – to buy their silence and to keep an eye on them.

According to the campaign, the short film is a "movie about blurring the boundaries between humanity and technology, set in the off-roading world of Central California.

David S. Goyer joined the project as producer through his Phantom Four banner alongside Kevin Turen.

[5] Lakeshore Entertainment joined Phantom Four to produce the film, which began principal photography in 2016.

[9] The film was released despite its financing and production company Global Road Entertainment being taken over by its lenders.

was released on August 24, 2018 alongside The Happytime Murders, and was projected to gross around $5 million from 1,710 theaters in its opening weekend.

The site's critics' consensus reads, "Clumsily recalling numerous superior movies about unlikely human/robot friendships, A.X.L.