This movie is practically a blueprint on how to adapt an older Japanese property into a modern Western theatrical experience. Not only is it a perfect popcorn outing for people who have never heard of Battle Angel before, but it's a terrific send up to the original creators and people (like me) who have been fans of the original Anime and Manga for a very long time and couldn't help but have high expectations. It's not perfect, but it's a solid movie that turned out way better than I thought it could have after having been promised some kind of adaptation of the Battle Angel story for over two decades.
What makes Alita so good is that it knows it has the right to completely lift every scene and line from Battle Angel... but doesn't. The movie very quickly goes in its own direction, rearranging, reordering and modifying all of the elements of the plot and the world to make something that flows more evenly and is easier to follow as a movie. That sounds like a bad idea on paper, but it worked so well in practical application. And when the movie does directly lift an existing scene or line of dialog, it feels earned.
Alita is perfectly cast, covers all the important plot points and moments from Battle Angel yet also goes places, does things, and expresses details that the original franchise never did, and comes together in the form of a movie that works both as a stand alone or the beginning of series.
Regardless of how much money it makes, or how many detractors come out of the woodwork to decry it for whatever personal reasons they have, Alita is the new gold standard for Hollywood adaptations of Japanese media (A resounding success that just makes me that much more excited to see how "Your name." turns out). If you are in any way a fan of science fiction or cyberpunk, this will be two hours well spent.
Review by DeletedBlockedParent2019-03-09T10:47:15Z
This movie is practically a blueprint on how to adapt an older Japanese property into a modern Western theatrical experience. Not only is it a perfect popcorn outing for people who have never heard of Battle Angel before, but it's a terrific send up to the original creators and people (like me) who have been fans of the original Anime and Manga for a very long time and couldn't help but have high expectations. It's not perfect, but it's a solid movie that turned out way better than I thought it could have after having been promised some kind of adaptation of the Battle Angel story for over two decades.
What makes Alita so good is that it knows it has the right to completely lift every scene and line from Battle Angel... but doesn't. The movie very quickly goes in its own direction, rearranging, reordering and modifying all of the elements of the plot and the world to make something that flows more evenly and is easier to follow as a movie. That sounds like a bad idea on paper, but it worked so well in practical application. And when the movie does directly lift an existing scene or line of dialog, it feels earned.
Alita is perfectly cast, covers all the important plot points and moments from Battle Angel yet also goes places, does things, and expresses details that the original franchise never did, and comes together in the form of a movie that works both as a stand alone or the beginning of series.
Regardless of how much money it makes, or how many detractors come out of the woodwork to decry it for whatever personal reasons they have, Alita is the new gold standard for Hollywood adaptations of Japanese media (A resounding success that just makes me that much more excited to see how "Your name." turns out). If you are in any way a fan of science fiction or cyberpunk, this will be two hours well spent.