"Baggage", can be a GOOD thing when yours makes it on time across the pond with you on your flight from London, especially if it's first out of the chute and onto the pick up carousel. But, it's NOT such a good thing if one carries quantities of the negative kind into a new relationship, be it an IRL relationship, or, in THIS case, the relationship between a viewer and a filmmaker.
It was to be expected then, when, Anime fans and enthusiasts expressed trepidation after the trailer for "Alita: Battle Angel" dropped. They can all still recall the cringe-fest that was M. Night Shyamalan's, "The Last Airbender", which IMO was DOA from the moment it was cast, and, don't get them started on "Dragonball Z", lest you want a wall of text recounting it's cornucopia of cinema sins.
Now, I'm not here to go down the rabbit hole that is often expressed in the current virtue signaling trend of "whitewashing" outrage. We're not talking about the bad old days practice of Black or Yellow face, where obviously Caucasian actors were darkened or "Orientaled" up to play faux versions of the real deal, nor of instances where it is done for comedic irony, as in Robert Downey Jr's, "Tropic of Thunder' performance, nor, the Waynan's Brothers in "White Chicks". However I DO find it interesting that no one seems outraged in those two instances, or, that the same folks who express shock and dismay at ScarJo's casting as the titular "Ghost in the Shell", ALSO express outrage at those who expressed outrage, at the idea of casting Idris Elba as James Bond. Seems like there's no pleasing some folks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKvqhlhXq9s
But I digress....
My point is, that we, as consumers of visual media, often let ourselves be influenced by the BAGGAGE we carry with us, when watching a film or show. Our expectations, based on PRIOR experiences, can subtly, or even greatly influence our enjoyment of a given offering. I have to wonder how die hard Trekkies would react to STDISCO, if they had NEVER seen Star Trek ANYTHING before? I myself can recall dismissing Wild Wild West, the movie, as soon as I saw Will Smith was cast in the lead, because for me Robert Conrad would always be the personification of James West. Yet, I had the opposite reaction to seeing Denzel Washington cast in the lead of either the Equalizer, or The Magnificent Seven, perhaps because lack of familiarity had not left me ingrained as to who these characters were. (Both great movies IMO by the way) Or perhaps it is just the power of the Denzel. And, even with all the "outrage" over the casting of "Ghost in the Shell", I still enjoyed the movie overall, although it fell down in a few places. Again I was unfamiliar with the source material.
Unlike the disappointing experience with "The Last Airbender", which I went into being a FAN of the Nickelodeon series as well as "The Legend of Korra", I was completely without opinion concerning Alita: Battle Angel. What I DID know was, that it was produced by James Cameron, who doesn't put his name on stinkers, and was directed by Robert Rodriguez, whom I have liked since El Mariachi. BOTH know how to deliver epic, believable worlds and characters, so I put my faith in that, and went in unbiased, with no expectations either way.
And I am SO very GLAD I did!!!
I saw the movie in IMAX / 3D, and, while SOME movies / Directors throw obvious, rather lame 3D effects to boost a lame, insipid storyline, or, OVER use it to the point of distraction, here, they found the perfect balance, with the 3D adding an immersive depth to the already impressive "26% more IMAX picture". If you watch the trailers, you can pretty much figure out which scenes really WOW in this format.
To address the elephant in the room, yes, Alita's eyes DO remind one of a cross between a high tech sex doll (not that I would know) and Margaret Keane's "Big Eyes" waifs. (Cristoph Waltz was in that one too) Yet, here, you quickly become so immersed in the story that you no longer notice. The story begins with Waltz's Dr. Ido discovering Alita's discarded torso in a dump, while he is scavenging for parts to fix up the neighborhood cyborgs, which are plentiful, and not trying to assimilate anyone. Apparently in THIS world, if a body part breaks, gets diseased, or hijacked (yes I said hijacked) it can be replaced, much like a crumpled bumper in a fender bender. Dr. Ido just happens to have a teenager sized cyborg body handy which is explained later in the film, and, a little JB Weld here, and a couple of stitches there and Bobs your Uncle, .. instant Teenage Mutant Ninja Angel...., (sorry) Alita awakens, but has no memory, and, as many teenagers are, is all questions, curiosity, and hormones, all at once, especially when she meets the "polite, hard working", and, all around handy guy Hugo, who IS teenage, but NOT mutant.
A visit from Ido's Ex, Chiren, gives us some (slightly disturbing) back-story and we meet her boss, Vector, played by Mahershala Ali, once again being chauffeured around by Viggo Mortensen, (just kidding) but who IS apparently a big deal, with connections to the sky city of Zalem, which floats above them, and is "the place were the cool hang out, the SWASS like to play, and the rich flaunt clout!" This is where everyone wants to someday go, "by any means necessary", yet Dr. Ido and his ex were apparently exiled from there, no backstory given.
Thrown in are a nice mix of teenage discovery and bonding, combat sports, bounty hunters, robot dogs, robot bounty hunters, set piece fight scenes, featuring robot dogs and bounty hunters of the meat and robot varieties, vivisection, nanobots, betrayal, heartbreak, and general cinematographic carnage....., and just when it was getting REALLY good, the credits ran, and NO ONE MOVED, hoping for one more glimpse of this world, or a Marvel Comics style peek at what is to (hopefully) come.
When I got home, I immediately looked up Alita, both the Anime and the Manga, and found a 2 part 1990's era Anime, which the movie, with a few minor changes and liberties, seems to have followed almost shot for shot in places. So, Kudos for at least partially following the source material, even if changes were made to make a coherent, box office ready story.
Was it perfect for those with the baggage of their own expectations? That's up to them to decide. Did I find it to be an entertaining movie that allowed me to suspend disbelief and immerse myself in Alita's dystopian hive of scum and villainy, and root for her to be victorious in the end? Yes sir!! So, May we have another??? PLEEASE????
Alita: Battle Angel is one hell of pretty looking movie. The world Robert Rodriguez and James Cameron build looks amazing. I loved the character design, the action scenes, Christoph Waltz was amazing, I really liked Rosa Salazar as Alita! The story was interesting and the ending looks like they have more planned. (Especially with Edward Norton showing up at the end, you don't give him a role to just stand there for 10 seconds unless you want him back later). The other good thing is that this movie never drags. You are invested for the whole 2 hours. At least I was!
I found out after the movie that this is based on a manga called Gunnm. Which I know intend to read because there is such a big world above Iron City we haven't explored yet! That defense system is brutal! I also want the story to continue with a sequel, we need more Ed Skrein as Zapan! Hopefully he can repair is face.
Anyway I do think if I read the manga I will see some different choices but that might be because making a movie is different in pacing than a manga. But I'll have to read it to find out! Alita: Battle Angel is a great blockbuster with fun action, a fun story and fun characters. Not everything is perfect but it is 2 hours of popcorn fun!
Ps. I'm glad Hugo is gone!
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.
Well, I hope this wasn't a waste of time because from what I read a sequel is anything but a given. Althought the numbers seem to be there, it wasn't overly succesfull. A lot of movies are to similar today and they are all vying for our attention. If you don't stand out, you are just one amongst many.
I didn't know the story this is based on. Whether this is an advantage or not I can't say. It was rather predictable, though. In any case I see this only as a movie, I don't compare or else. It felt more like a three hour movie than the two hours it actually was (is that good or bad ?). And without even checking the running time while watching, it became obviuos this could only be the first part.
I liked the beginning and the end. The middle part, everything related to Hugo - well, that was my problem. You can't make the movie without this character, I get that. He is essential for Alita's journey. Maybe it was the actor, the clichéd portrayal but I didn't like him or anything related with him. And the whole romance was, like so many movies before, too obvious.
Having said all that I wouldn't say it is a bad movie as such. Production value is where you'd expect it to be, the action scenes are good, acting is on par. It was alltogether entertaining. But......this can be said about many other movies. The standing-out-part is missing (see above).
I will not discourage anyone from seeing it. Take it for what it is and enjoy it if you can. But be aware you could be watching a story whose real ending might never come
James Cameron's long-awaited adaptation of the manga series Gunnm, titled Alita: Battle Angel, finally hits theaters with a $200m budget directed by Robert Rodriguez. Set in a dystopian future, the story follows cyborg Alita as she tries to piece together her past after a devastating battle. Cyber-doctor Dyson Ido (Waltz) finds her in the Iron City wastelands and recreates her, but when the city's cyber-thugs start causing trouble, Alita's past and battle skills come back to her. The visuals are stunning, particularly the photorealism of the titular character, played by Rosa Salazar. The action is also impressive, but the story and dialogue are at times cliche and the love angle is weak. Despite its flaws, Alita: Battle Angel is surprisingly good, with visually exciting action scenes that make it worth watching.
La tan esperada adaptación de James Cameron de la serie de manga Gunnm, titulada Alita: Battle Angel, finalmente llega a los cines con un presupuesto de $ 200 millones dirigida por Robert Rodriguez. Ambientada en un futuro distópico, la historia sigue a la cyborg Alita mientras intenta reconstruir su pasado después de una batalla devastadora. El ciber-doctor Dyson Ido (Waltz) la encuentra en los páramos de Iron City y la recrea, pero cuando los ciber-matones de la ciudad comienzan a causar problemas, el pasado de Alita y sus habilidades de batalla vuelven a ella. Las imágenes son impresionantes, particularmente el fotorrealismo del personaje principal, interpretado por Rosa Salazar. La acción también es impresionante, pero la historia y el diálogo son a veces clichés y el ángulo amoroso es débil. A pesar de sus fallas, Alita: Battle Angel es sorprendentemente buena, con escenas de acción visualmente emocionantes que hacen que valga la pena verla
I quite enjoyed this movie. Of course it was a good start that it was directed by Robert Rodriguez. It is perhaps a bit of a young adult movie but that did not stop this old fart from enjoying it.
I guess most people know the basic premise of the movie. It is based on a Japanese cyberpunk manga. Alita, a cyborg, is found by Dr. Ido. She is reawakened, given a new body (two actually), she is much more than she seems and … she kicks ass.
The movie plays out in a somewhat post apocalyptic world although it is not as dark and depressing as many post apocalyptic scenarios. It is actually quite colorful and sometimes both funny and cool. A lot of people, if not most of them, in this world are cybernetically enhanced. Alita herself is a “full body conversion”. It is a quite detailed world full of pretty cool cyberpunk gadgets.
The various cyborgs themselves are of course the “main feature” of the movie. They range in a wide variety from fairly human-like to cyborg tanks. Most of them wielding various kinds of bladed weapons. Of course the CGI and the various action scenes are top notch. Alita is really cool when she gets going with her ass-kicking.
Story? Well it is manga of course so it is pretty simple but having said that it’s not bad at all. I definitely feel there is some elements from Rollerball in the no rules racing and ball chasing games which is a centerpiece of the story.
One thing that I liked immensely is that there is really no preaching in this movie. No green nonsense and no social crap. Maybe that’s because it’s based on a Japanese manga and the Japanese has not yet developed the easily offended SJW mob that plagues all too many western countries nowadays. I know there’s a bunch of SJW retards that manages to cram some feminist message into it and another bunch that claims Alita is too pretty. Well if you like cyborgs with eyes like golf balls maybe but these asshats should perhaps stop their ranting and take a serious look at their sexual preferences in that case.
The only thing that I was not too happy about was that there is no real ending to it and what is there is rather sad. This Nova guy pulling the strings up in Zalem, the cloud city, is never even touched and the ending scenes just shows him smiling like a huge cliffhanger. I guess I should not be surprised because him and his cloud city is the foundation of this manga world so for the story to continue in a possible sequel that had to be kept but still … it irked me somewhat.
Having the unique crowded style that is Robert Rodriguez's flair, this movie suffers from two great creator's tales forming into a clouded mess. James Cameron, known for his epic scales, and Rodriguez's small budget work don't mix well here. In fact, if it wasn't for Rodriguez's understanding of the importance of the world here, it might not have worked at all. But with the fluidity that he brings to the streets of Iron City, it breathes life in a chaotic marvel of special effects and set design.
Which is the standout aspect of this movie, the world design. Crafted with care as you can see this is a story that the creators want to be told right. Unfortunately, it left the characters and plot short. The environment is a lovely thing to admire, and to wonder about. But once again, it is sad to see the wonder be all that you get.
This film is a build up that never completes itself. Sure, Alita has an okay arc, and other characters have some motivation. But it falls flat when you build and build that you don't focus on this story as it's own, and instead let it be a setup film for potential sequels. It has great ideas and wonderous action. However, it leaves ideas behind as fast as it gets there. Built up to be a big thing, but then getting a tangent to something else. Leaving me feeling unsatisfied. Though, the main moral fixated with Alita is actually quite good and gives that unsatisfied feeling some meaning, but not enough to justify it.
Alita is the best character here, I found no others to be compelling enough to care for. This may be a factor of pacing shifting too fast or slowly in many cases, as I don't get the feeling enough time was spent with the right characters. Doctor Ido's arc is completely finished by the first half and is left behind for the remainder of the film. Others are just there for filler and have no impact on the story.
Alita: Battle Angel is good for action, as it is directed decently and has little to no shakycam. The main character is a strong female lead and has a very unique world and backstory. If a sequel does happen, I only hope they make it a contained film and actually give us a fascinating plot.
5/10
Alita: Battle Angel is like inviting all the coolest people to a Sunday afternoon kid's party.
Because the cast is there, but they get stuck in the muddy story lines and overshadowed by the monumental effects, which is a pity, really, because it's quite a cast. Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Christoph Waltz, Ed Skrein... and a cameo by Spoiler Alert!? In a movie directed by Robert Rodriguez and produced by James Cameron!?
You'll go for the CGI but you'll stay for the CGI because that's really all there is. The story, as is often the case with Rodriguez films, is a little all over the place and the plot changes more often than a model in a cheap fashion show. Then, once he's finally decided on an ending, he has to rush to get there before the film ends so the last 20 minutes has to hold all of the plot developments before giving up and deciding to prepare for the worst and hope for a sequel.
PS [and minor spoiler alert]: I did have some questions concerning the human boy and his relationship with with the cyborg teen. Because we saw her naked enough to know that she's as anatomically incorrect as a Barbie Doll, so... she has no port into which he might insert his flesh drive?
I know this movie will probably not please die hard Manga and Anime fans, as with Ghost In The Shell, which realised their anger, but to put it bluntly- I really don’t give a toss for their opinions! I am not a fan of either genre, I like the storylines, but the animation style is an acquired taste, and not one I personally like, so the movie adaptations are just the thing for me! As for the cries of ‘Whitewashing, with SJ in GITS and no doubt Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz etc in Alita- Get real! The characters they are playing are Animations and comic book characters for heavens sake! Ink on paper and graphics on film, no more Japanese than I am! (And given that a lot of them are drawn or animated with Alita’s huge eyes, they are not particularly Japanese in appearance anyway!) I suppose Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, et al, were whitewashing when they made “The Magnificent Seven” ( If you know your movie history) One of the best Westerns ever.
Furthermore, I heard no cries of “yellow-washing” when the Japanese remake of Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven was made (Yurusarezaru Mono) ior “Throne of Blood” a Japanese adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, to name but two. (There have been numerous Japanese adaptations/re-makes of western film and literature) I know people can get very protective about things they hold dear, but really- some people are just not happy unless they have something to be offended by, annoyed at, or pissed off at in general these days, it seems....
Entertainment is created to entertain, and if it does that, it’s served its purpose, be it Manga, Anime, Live action film, Ballet, Opera, Poetry, a Novel or a Stage Play. They have been adapted, re-made, re-imagined and re-booted countless times for centuries, should you bother to look into the subject. So... Alita entertained me immensely, and for that I am profoundly grateful, whatever it’s origins and source material. I look forward to the sequel- I couldn’t believe it ended when it did! 9/10 ( it would have been 10/10 if it had lasted another hour, and concluded the story!)
Hey "Mortal Engines" - look at this: This is how it's done!
Both of these movies play in the steampunk/cyberpunk genre setting, both movies are about revenge, both movies have a female lead with a male sidekick that is also somewhat of a love interest, and both movies play in a fantastic world that has different rules and different factions. Both movies are CGI heavy and heave a lot of action/fighting scenes and a final enemy as well as sub-boss - everything such as it was with "Mortal Engines". With costs of $150m and $170m both movies are even in the same league budget-wise.
The difference - to me - was that while I was really interested in "Mortal Engines" I wasn't really sure what to expect from Alita, and after Mortal Engines being really bad (see my Trackt-Review here: https://trakt.tv/comments/209128) I wasn't too interested in watching this - we even pushed the cinema reservation 3 times before finally watching this (unfortunately it then wasn't shown in 3D anymore).
But be assured: Other than the similarities mentioned above, these movies don't share much else - especially quality-wise there is an enormous gap between both movies.
The plot: In a dystopian future the offspring of the survivors of "The Fall", a mysterious event in which all but one sky cities crashed back down to earth - the junkyard of the sky cities, the offspring of the survivors of the sky city falls spend their time with robotic enhancements, playing Motorball or being a Hunter-Warrior, while dreaming of getting the chance to move to Zalem, the last floating sky city, where live is rumored to be paradisaical.
In this setting Dr. Dyson Ido, a earth dwelling doctor and scientist and expert in cyborgs, finds parts of a cyborg in the waste-dumps of Zalem: An intact brain and heart combination - and he rebuilds her: Alita however does not remember anything from her past, and tries to make sense of what's happening around her as well as her origin.
So much for the plot. As you can see, there is a lot of plot already in this really short extract that I gave you. This is probably the biggest negative aspect: To get all of this background into one film. The movie manages this arguably quite well - if you are someone who needs an explanation for everything right from the get-go, you will probably have your problems with the story. If you can, however, just accept what you are given, and - so to speak - step into the brain of Alita who experiences everything from a clean slate as well, you wont have that much problems. I am of the second kind - I like comic books and in comic books it's often like that: You get presented a situation that you do not fully understand but you just appreciate the artworks, the little explanations that you get, and how the story unfolds. Alita is doing just that. And it's doing it very well:
With Christoph Waltz and Rosa Salazar we already get two really talented and lovable characters. Of course, Rosa Salazar is totally computerized and the thing that will stick with you right from the very first trailer are her huge eyes that make her look unnatural. Her CGI is however done extremely well, her facial mimics look ingenious and so you really like her right from the beginning. And this is a great plus - you find her likable and you identify with her (something Mortal Engines did not achieve at all). She is really cute in her naive ways, but you also realize right form the beginning, that she has her own mind, a great sense for justice and that she is extremely brave. After having established these two characters and the father-daugther bond that is to be, new characters get introduced, and while I was excited to see Jennifer Connelly her role is unfortunately a minor one. However, Ed Skrein as an enemy and Keean Johnson as love interest are really interesting characters. I really liked Keean's character Hugo and though that he and Alita had really great chemistry. And that's really seldom in a CGI and a Human character - but here it works absolutely excellent. There are other
Talking about the CGI: It's absolutely gorgeous. Everything looks great and realistic, and - different to most other CGI movies - you still get the felling that what's happening is intense and has consequences. This makes the fight scenes thrilling, e.g. when Alita faces Grewishka, and starts taking damage, this is actually pretty intense.
The running time of over 2h is pretty long, still you never feel bored or overwhelmed by fighting scenes and you never start asking "is the end near yet" - once or twice I wondered how it would end, just because we where already sitting at the cinema for a long time, and I dreaded an open end. Unfortunately in the end that's exactly what you get - an open end. Yet it didn't bother me as much as it bothers me with most other open endings - in a way this movie gets to a really satisfying closure in it self. Of course, it doesn't even begin to address even half of the questions that you might have, e.g. who is Nova, why is he doing what he's doing? Who is Alita, was her origin on the good side, or actually on the bad? Who threw her away, when and with what purpose? And what did she do all that time in Zalem? What was the Great Fall, why did it happen, who are the Martians, etc. pp.
Actually you might wonder if this movie did answer any question at all, and well - probably it didn't. But never the less, we get a really satisfying end. An ending however, that cries for a sequel, and I really really really hope that we do get to see one. This is of course unclear, due to this being probably the last movie that Fox has made as Fox (i.e. not under Disney), and Boxoffice results not being as high as expected, due to probably also many negative preliminary critics that I cannot share at all.
On the negative side however, I would say that over all the story isn't reinventing anything. It's a fish-out-of-water plot, you know who the end-bosses will be and the story develops in just the direction you'd expect, with a number of precursors.
I had a lot of fun in cinemas, I was really captivated, I loved the setting, I loved the characters, the CGI, the plot as it evolved. For me this is a must see, for anyone interested in cyberpunk/steampunk-ish movies.
Alita, the character, is marvelous for so many reasons: Her hybrid anime/photoreal design, Rosa Salazar's captivating performances, the sheer fluidity of how she integrates with the live actors… Cliché as the statement was, I agree 150% with what Hugo said: "You're the most human person I have ever met." Stick Alita into any script you like, and I'll watch that movie ten times.
That said, it would be nice if that script builds on the woefully underutilized world shown in this film. My rating is tempered by the one-dimensional side characters and overall lack of resolution at the end, because this was clearly set up for a sequel. There's a lot more source material left to adapt, if Cameron can tear himself away from Avatar movies long enough to at least help get a sequel off the ground (and if the Mouse gives the green light to do it, considering they now own the rights to this franchise… :weary:). Jon Landau mentioned a sequel just a few days ago (https://twitter.com/DEADLINE/status/1600222727624790016), so that's a nice bit of news.
I will be very disappointed if there's no "Alita 2" coming, even if it takes another 20 years of development hell. (I say 20 years because the domain name battleangelmovie.com was registered way back in 2000. This project was clearly on James Cameron's mind for several years before anyone confirmed in 2003 that a script was being written.)
ALITA BATTLE ANGEL (2019) REVIEW
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:scroll: Plot: A deactivated cyborg is revived, but cannot remember anything of her past life and goes on a quest to find out who she is.
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:man:⚖ Review : Alita Battle Angel is a cinematic marvel in terms of action , adventure and science fiction. Written by Avatar fame James Cameron and directed by Robert Rodriguez this movie’s action is phenomenal, especially in 3D, where the motorball matches and fight scenes send balls and all manner of vicious weapons at viewers.
Director Robert Rodriguez does excellent work with the CGI-dominated battles, bringing the film’s anime and cyberpunk aesthetics to life, and taking advantage of the impossible feats cyborgs can perform.
Rosa Salazar is amazing as the lead and shines throughout. Would have loved a better backstory into this world.
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:thumbsup:Goods :
Stunning VFX and Visuals
Dystopian Adventure
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:thumbsdown: Bads :
Hurried Backstory Setup
Unconvincing Buildup For a Franchise
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:fire: Final Rating : 7.5/10
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:white_check_mark: Verdict : This dystopian fantasy has animations which are truly amazing and stunning which makes it a big screen flick and the emotional tinge shown in Alita's life brings in the Dramatic genre into this multi genre spectacle.Watch it for amazing action and Visuals.
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I'm spinning with all kinds of emotion, but I loved it. Alita is one of my favorite protagonists of the last decade or so, and she's all in service in one of the most genuine, exciting, and traditional blockbusters I've seen in years. No wonder critics hate this film, it goes against what they've been trying to prop up for years. It's not the same, it's not what they've come to expect, it goes in deep with it's anime roots in ways I'm amazed the studio allowed to let pass. I wonder just how much hand James Cameron had in pushing the heads to keep it exactly how he and Rodriguez wanted. It has the adventure, the epic scale, the mystery, drama, and anxious moments I've been longing for in films for awhile. It doesn't even feel like a film that should exist, not in this year, and that's why I'm so happy. I, like, actually cared about the characters, it has Cameron's touch of cinematic storyelling, translating it's original manga source material to his style. This is how empowered characters should be written. The visual cues, development, deeply emotional moments, just, aw, I was tense the whole time. It has a Back To The Future era bar sequence. It has it all. I'll write more later, or discuss it in our podcast, but Alita is a fantastic movie from an unfortunately bygone era.
Review by Enrico CamillieriBlockedParent2020-04-21T14:42:34Z
I knew Alita:Battle Angel was based on a manga before I watched it, but I hadn't read it. I was skeptical going in, because it's difficult to translate well something as detailed and long as mangas can be into a movie. I have to say that the movie was really captivating and it made want to read the manga.
The plot was a bit cheesy. While the premise was pretty novel (at least for me), the development of the story was kinda predictable. That's excusable considering it is, in a sense, an "origin story", but, still, it felt like something already seen. The tone of the whole thing was pretty light, although the fight scenes were a bit more gritty. And that scene with the brain, wow. That was out of nowhere, and dark . I hope the eventual sequels lean more into a dark, mature and even gruesome (to an extent) tone.
The casting was pretty great. Rosa Salazar's performance as Alita was incredible, the viewer is really able to empathize with her character. I don't think I have to say anything about Christoph Waltz, that man is a legend. I also enjoyed Mahershala Ali, I wish his character could have had more screentime. Same for Jennifer Connelly.
Only exception would be Keenan Johnson, who plays Hugo. I don't think it's the actor fault, but his character was really out of place. I think part of it was miscasting, but Hugo wasn't developed properly as a character. I think either less or more time would have helped. As it is now, you don't really care for him as much as the movie wants you to. I'll only say that seeing him die twice was quite satisfying.
The CGI and world building were marvelous. The classic cyberpunk look, with amazing technology like cyborgs mixed in with poverty is always interesting to me. With a great company like Weta supervising the visual effects the results are what you would expect. The cyborgs feel real and like there is a connection between their cybernetic bodies and their human mind. The main character, Alita, is completely CGI; and yet it feels perfectly natural and connected to the environment. I thought the eyes looked weird at first, but in the end I appreciated the uniqueness and emotiveness it brought to her face.
Overall, one of the best movie for what regards visual effects. With the exception of two scenes: the one underwater (which, to my understanding, is one of the most difficult things to properly simulate) and the scene where Hugo falls off. The latter in particular felt like it was from the 90s, no idea how it made it into an otherwise gorgeous movie.
In the end, it's a movie I would recommend. If you like action and cyberpunk and can tolerate a bit of cheesiness, you would probably enjoy this movie. If not, I think the photo-real effects might be another good reason.
8/10