Hey there guys and here we are with the first of many reviews of movies that I sadly missed out in theaters last year.Whether due to scheduling conflicts or other complications there were quite a few I just didn’t have the chance to check out right away (many of which I was quite excited for). But since there won’t be any new movies coming out for a while expect a lot of these in the coming weeks and I look forward to discussing them in order of release date starting with this high profile manga adaptation that came out in February of last year. Not much was expected from Alita Battle Angel though it still did better than many people expected and was actually almost a hit (largely due to foreign grosses but still) if it weren’t for that $170 million price tag. Even critics, and audiences mostly enjoyed what they saw and there’s even a big fanbase demanding for a sequel to happen and after finally witnessing the final product I can see why people have taken a liking to it. Let’s go and look at what was it people saw in Alita in my review below!
Based off of the classic manga by Yukito Kushiro, the film takes place in the year, 2563, 300 years after devastating war called “The Fall” befelled the Earth. But the focus here is when a scientist named Dyson Ido, is scavenging for parts in a huge scrapyard and comes across some sort of disembodied cyborg with a human brain lying in a pile. He then takes it back to his repair shop in Iron City and reattaches a new body to the brain which makes her conscious once more yet with no recollection of who she was. Ido then decides to name her “Alita” (a name that means a lot to him) and promises to take good care of her. Now Alita herself is very curious about the world she lives in and yearns to learn more about it but of course Ido is very protective and restricts her from going out past late hours (especially with killers who have been targeting ladies on the loose). Still she does end up befriending a young man named Hugo who teaches her about a major sport called Motorball, and is someone who yearns to move up the sky city of Zalem above them and is fascinated by everything around her. One night however, when she notices Ido head out again with a weapon she decides to follow him and they run into some serial killers and all of sudden Alita has these extraordinary fighting abilities that she uses to take them down. Without diving into anymore plot details, it is at this moment where Alita’s journey with her being sought after by the mysterious ruler of Zalem, Vector, as she seeks to uncover not only the secrets of her past but also the secrets of those around her, and Zalem itself.
One of the biggest reasons this movie succeeds is because unlike other films based of manga or anime, it actually felt like Robert Rodriguez, James Cameron, and the writers actually cared about the source material and put a lot of effort into translating it into the big screen as best as they could to make a good movie. They did a great job making this world feel fully realized and the movie itself does a good job of showing how it works and the people that inhabit it as well as establishing its history. Lots of nice little details and there is a good deal of mythology thrown in as well. You can really tell that the writers put a lot of attention into the world building and presenting it and in that area they succeeded. I was also legitimately surprised at some of the story turns that happened (particularly with the relationship between Alita, and Hugo) and there are certain emotional beats that are very effective and the movie isn’t afraid to get dark at times (it earns that pg-13). It also works well as a solid origin movie for Alita that sets up her character well yet also spends plenty of time with her using her abilities to fight bad guys and it mostly works as a stand alone story. I say mostly because like many other would be franchise starters of late it ends on a big tease for a sequel that is most probably not going to happen. Having it end like that was a little frustrating and it does feel like it just stops dead in its tracks just to leave some loose threads (though admittedly it does mostly wrap up a couple of them) and in general the pacing can be a little uneven at times. My other big issue pertains to the dialogue as it feels like most of it is just used for exposition to explain things constantly to us and that does hurt the pacing a bit, and it makes me wish it wasn’t so focused on doing that all the time (though there are some lines that were quite funny, and give the script a nice shot in the arm). Even with those issues though I was never bored, and it is indeed an entertaining movie that has a lot of heart.
Of course if your going to have some world building you have to make sure to have a nice presentation of it in the movie and that’s certainly the case here as this is a very beautiful looking feature to look at. I really like the look of this world and there is some truly breathtaking scenery like with the wide shots (like the junkyard, the outside of Iron City, and Zalem itself) and the impressive production value that does a great job capturing this futuristic city. I also dug the designs of some of the inhabitants as most of them have these really cool cybernetic parts which was a nice touch and the enemies also have some creative looks as well and can be quite intimidating. As for the action well Robert Rodriguez once again shows that he knows how to craft a great action sequence with some really exciting chases, and (really violent) melee combat that does an excellent job of showing off the fighting skills of not just Alita but of those she is up against and they are meticulously crafted. The stand out in my opinion is easily the Motorball competition as it is thrilling and creative in the way the environment is used. But possibly the most impressive creation here was that of Alita herself who was designed with big exaggerated anime eyes and the feature works within the context of the film as to make her stand out from everyone and present her as someone different than the rest and the VFX work is very impressive (the facial expressions in particular) and it never looked out of place. Also helps that Rosa Salazar gives in a great motion capture performance and makes Alita into a character worth rooting for and gives the audience a rooting interest in her character. She truly is the star of the picture and seeing her become this strong willed, and hopeful warrior is worthwhile. Since she is the primary focus its understandable that the others would have as much screen time but they do what they can. The other characters with the most time on screen would be Ivo who is a solid father figure for Alita who has secrets of his own with Christoph Waltz giving turning in a nice lowkey emotional turn, and Hugo who is a fine love interest that has some nice moments with Alita (even if it can get a little cheesy at times) with his arc going in some interesting directions and Keean Johnson gives in a fine performance. I do wish however that Jennifer Connolly, and Marshala Ali had more to do as cyborg engineer, Dr. Chiren, and Nova’s proxy, Vector, respectively as they give in solid performances and play characters that are interesting on the surface while once again Ed Skrein hams it up in a fun turn as egotistical bounty hunter, Zapan, and Jakie Earle Haley works well as the big henchman, Grewishka. Still like I said the star of the movie is the title character and she along with the direction help elevate the movie.
All in all, Alita Battle Angel is a really good manga adaptation that seems to respects its source material and will appeal to those (like myself) who aren’t too familiar with it. Its may have some pacing issues, the dialogue is mostly exposition, the supporting cast doesn’t have a whole lot to do, and the it suffers from trying to set up a sequel at the end yet it still had some cool world building, some powerful emotional/ inspirational moments, top notch VFX work, strong performances, and a star making turn from Rosa Salazar as the titular character among other things. Its the best of both worlds from James Cameron, and Robert Rodriguez and whether or not we get a follow up (which may or may not happen all things considered) it gives me hope for future manga/anime movie adaptations and that Fox will continue to make these types of big budget movies under the Disney umbrella.
Rating: B+
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