THIS IS A NON-SPOILER ARTICLE
Alita: Battle Angel had been one of my most anticipated movies for a while now. Ever since that teaser trailer in 2017, I'd been looking forward to seeing this one from the master himself, James Cameron (Titanic, Avatar). Directed by Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, Desperado), Alita: Battle Angel is based on a cyberpunk manga series created by Yukito Kushiro, called Gunnm. James Cameron was reportedly offered the character by his friend and fellow movie director Guillermo Del Toro (Pacific Rim) way back in the 90s, but production was held off until the right technology was available, a worthy wait in that sense.
Set in a dystopian future where the damaged body of a young cyborg girl is found in a scrapyard and is restored by a Cybernetic Doctor - Daison Ido (Christopher Waltz), Alita: Battle Angel tells Alita's (Rosa Salazar) story as she traverses life in Iron City, with her newfound family and friends while she attempts to rediscover a past which she has no memory of. As most anime/manga fans know, translating the source materials into live action adaptations is anything but easy, with very few adaptations turning out to be decent movies. However, while Alita: Battle Angel improves the status quo of that trend, with groundbreaking visuals as it takes the western fascination with anime to the next level, it still leaves somethings to be desired.
Set in a dystopian future where the damaged body of a young cyborg girl is found in a scrapyard and is restored by a Cybernetic Doctor - Daison Ido (Christopher Waltz), Alita: Battle Angel tells Alita's (Rosa Salazar) story as she traverses life in Iron City, with her newfound family and friends while she attempts to rediscover a past which she has no memory of. As most anime/manga fans know, translating the source materials into live action adaptations is anything but easy, with very few adaptations turning out to be decent movies. However, while Alita: Battle Angel improves the status quo of that trend, with groundbreaking visuals as it takes the western fascination with anime to the next level, it still leaves somethings to be desired.
It was hard to describe my feeling's coming out from this one, while I wasn't largely disappointed, I wasn't exactly elated (kinda how I felt after seeing The Maze Runner, although this was more entertaining). Alita Battle Angel was a deeply character driven film, with the development and discovery of the titular character leaving very little room for development elsewhere. The film's plot is an intriguing one, but lacks a certain finesse you'd have come to expect from a Cameron script. It passes very strong themes of loyalty, justice, family and love as Alita attempts to rediscover her former life. It's also interesting to see her metal shell stripped back to reveal the heart and soul of a young woman who's simply trying to be in the right despite whatever her past may have been. I really liked how even though we had so many questions surrounding her past and what she was, we got a lot of insight as to her value and belief system.
Sadly its this fascination with Alita that diminishes other characters and her relationship with them, while her relationship with Ido (Christopher Waltz) is quite endearing, her relationship with Hugo (Keann Johnson) feels...and I don't mean to throw a pun here, but inorganic. Despite a solid cast consisting of Jennifer Conelly, Mashershala Ali, Michelle Rodriguez and others, most actors feel underused while some literally are, since they are just cameos. Visually, Alita is every CGI artist's wet dream with fantastic backdrops and action scenes which serve as great interludes for a sometimes dull plot and a very poor third act. The VFX work on this movie is absolutely amazing and I expect that it will be up for recognition via awards when that time comes around.
Sadly its this fascination with Alita that diminishes other characters and her relationship with them, while her relationship with Ido (Christopher Waltz) is quite endearing, her relationship with Hugo (Keann Johnson) feels...and I don't mean to throw a pun here, but inorganic. Despite a solid cast consisting of Jennifer Conelly, Mashershala Ali, Michelle Rodriguez and others, most actors feel underused while some literally are, since they are just cameos. Visually, Alita is every CGI artist's wet dream with fantastic backdrops and action scenes which serve as great interludes for a sometimes dull plot and a very poor third act. The VFX work on this movie is absolutely amazing and I expect that it will be up for recognition via awards when that time comes around.
Alita: Battle Angel is a visual treat to every sci-fi and manga fan out there, (Oh how long have we waited to see Manga eyes in a movie), However, what Alita has in abundance in terms of visuals and acting talent it comes up a bit short in terms of its plot, which can be attributed to the fact that it's setting up a sequel. It's not the most satisfying watch if you're keen on closure or answers (since you won't get many), which may resent some viewers (after all they just spent over 2 hours watching it). The challenge now for Cameron an co. might be getting that same audience to see the next film with the same anticipation as they did the first.
Reject Rating: 6/10
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