Alita: Battle Angel

James Cameron has spent more than a decade trying to bring Alita: Battle Angel to the big screen. Based on a popular cyberpunk manga series by Yukito Kishiro, published between 1990-1995, he has spent that time refining the script and developing the world that Alita inhabits. And that’s pretty much what he now spends most of his time taking care of with the Avatar movies and the world of Pandora. Hence the reason why he eventually decided to step back into producer duties for this movie, letting Robert Rodriguez pick up the directing reins in order to finally get it finished. Rodriguez uses much of the script that Cameron wrote, but brings a little bit of his trademark style to the table too.

It’s 2563, and we’re in Iron City. Dr Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz) is scavenging among a huge scrapyard, looking for cyborg spare parts that he can make use of, while fresh metal and rubbish rains down from Zalem – a man-made, floating city sitting in the sky above Iron City. 300 years ago there were many of these floating cities but following a brutal war all of them except for Zalem perished. During that time though, the elevator leading up to Zalem was destroyed, and these days only the ‘pure’ inhabitants of Zalem are permitted there. Nobody from Earth is allowed to visit and if anyone comes down from Zalem, they’re not allowed back. It’s to try and avoid any contamination from entering Zalem. If you’ve seen the Matt Damon movie Elysium… well, then it’s a bit like that really.

Among the usual items, such as robotic hands and eyeballs, Dr Ido discovers Alita, or rather the core of Alita – lying lifeless and broken, with only a battered hairless head and upper torso remaining. He takes her back to his laboratory/home, where he works as a cybernetics expert, repairing and upgrading the inhabitants of Iron City who are either cyborgs or humans with cyborg body parts. Along with his assisting nurse, and using a robotic body that had been previously built for his now deceas...

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...

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I’m writing this review one day after the Oscars night, and I can guarantee at least one thing: Alita: Battle Angel is getting a Best Visual Effects nomination and it’s probably going to win. Calling it now. There are no words that can describe how immersive, realistic and groundbreaking the IMAX 3D experience is. Weta Digital is undoubtedly the most incredible VFX/CGI company since the beginning of this millennium. From the Lord of the Rings trilogy to the Avatar movie(s) and through the most famous TV series of this time, Game of Thrones, Peter Jackson‘s company keeps surpassing the impossible.

Alita is a mix of Rosa Salazar‘s motion-capture performance and CGI animation, and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve seen in a long time. Visuals are not the most important aspect of a film, they’re not even the key technical feature. The story and characters are and always will be the necessary ingredients for a movie’s success. That said, I’m also the first to defend that without remarkable technical achievements, a film won’t ever go above “very good.” If you want a movie to be one of the best of the year, a combination of compelling story/characters and great filmmaking attributes is essential. Robert Rodriguez‘s film nails the latter requirement, but has a lot of hits and misses regarding the former.

Like I wrote above, I have no vocabulary to describe how mind-blowing and eyegasmic this movie looks. If you’re intrigued by how fascinated I am, you know what to do: buy an IMAX ticket and watch it. The visuals alone compensate for the price of admission. Besides the jaw-dropping VFX, the sound and production design are unbelievable. I could feel every punch, kick or scream like I rarely feel with other high-budget films. The amount of work that went in to build this world is worthy of recognition, and I honestly hope that by the end of this year, Alita is receiving a whole bunch of nominatio...

I did enjoy Alita. It was a great big "pkyew-pkyew" sort of a mess, but I did still walk away having had a pretty good time.

Unfortunately, both Alita(the character)'s romantic interest and Alita(the movie)'s romantic plotline I despised. And this aspect took up so much on screen realestate that I could never see my way to giving Alita a glowing score, even if everything else about it had been perfect (it wasn't).

An interesting part of the flim though that I also need to touch on is the special effects. They aren't even close to photorealism, but it honestly still totally works, just because there are so many of them. Impressive is the most appropriate word that comes to mind. See, even if the CGI effects don't always sell themselves as reality, the world that they are in fits, it's like how an animated movie doesn't look like real life, but you're still convinced because against its own backdrop, even though maybe they didn't use an actual elephant to play the role of Dumbo, you still believe that he's a real character in that world. Alita's sheer abundance of creative, setting driven CGI, blurs the lines between live action and animation, delivering a totally new, unique product.

It's just a shame they couldn't have done that in a better, more coheseive (and less bogged down) narrative.

Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole.

Definitely a Robert Rodriguez movie, but a Robert Rodriguez movie made with that James Cameron money.

The world building was incredible. Rosa Salazar, Christophe Waltz, and the rest of the cast do a great job. The technical wizardry, not just with the visual effects but the use of 3-D and IMAX was nothing short of dazzling. The action is exhilarating. I'll also take Motorball over podracing or Quidditch any day.

Yes there are problems with the script because James Cameron has never been a strong writer. There is also way too much sequel baiting for my taste. But for a movie like this to come out in a time when all the profitable IPs are getting tedious, Alita Battle Angel was refreshing and tons of fun. Easily the best live action anime film adaptation to date and a kick ass sensory overload.

James Cameron, I would rather you devote time to make more Battle Angel and less Avatar.

Alita: Battle Angel is an awesome movie. It has great action, an interesting plot, lovable characters, amazing acting by Rosa Salazar and overall it's a wonderful and fun film. It includes some of the best CGI ever created in film. Without a doubt, it is the best manga/anime adaption by Hollywood. I highly recommend this movie. Definitely 10 out of 10.

One not too terrible spoiler This movie was full of potential. The beginning of the movie was fantastic, full of amazing James Cameronesque world building and attention to detail. Where the movie starts to go down hill is more of a suprise hole in the side walk that this movie fell down, because you don't see it coming. Up to and including the bar fight, the movie was amazing. RIGHT afterward the B team entered the cutting room floor, characters started doing things that went against their motivation, and honestly the least bit of work would have solved that, but none was put forward. It was like that for the entire last half of the movie. I DO hope there is a sequel, I would like to see that. I think it would be better.

Yeah, I didn't read the Manga. I was never a manga fan, but now that comic books are going the way they are... Manga is starting to look pretty good isn't it?

Anyway, it seems like a lot of the bad reviews are... political. You know, the, "people only like this because they are (insert woke insult)." and that's really not fair.

I'll go out there and admit that Alita's eyes kind of freaked me out. Too realistic, too cartoony eyes, and that left me with an unsettling feeling. It was creepy. It was creepy in the same relative way the Elves on the Shelves are creepy.

But the story comes fast and hard and leaves you very satisfied in the end. It kind of felt like Princess Monanoke kind of ending. And that is all with a story about someone that in really pretty innocent in a world that is really pretty horrific, and that is also a fun thing to watch.

But, yeah, her eyes kind of freaked me out. Aside from that, it was a totally enjoyable film. Give it a shot and ignore the politics.

Alita: Battle Angel packs in a lot, sometimes maybe a bit too much, but it’s still a fun ride, especially if you love action and top-notch special effects.

The movie’s a bit on the long side, and you can feel it at times, but the world James Cameron built is so detailed that the extra scenes actually add to the experience rather than taking away from it. It’s cool to see Cameron and Rodriguez work together, with Cameron handling the big-picture world-building and Rodriguez directing with his own high-energy style.

Rosa Salazar as Alita does a great job. She gives the character life and makes you care about her, even when the plot feels a bit thin. The story doesn’t quite match the level of the visuals and editing, which is a bit of a letdown because the world itself is so well-crafted.

Still, Alita’s got some powerful moments—like when she says, “I do not stand by in the presence of evil!” That line alone sums up her courage and spirit.

In the end, while Alita has its flaws, it’s definitely enjoyable. The action and effects make it worth watching, and Salazar’s performance keeps you hooked.

It might not be a perfect film, but it’s got heart, and I really enjoyed it.

Alita: Battle Angel is a very good movie. Very interesting mix of good, believable CGI and "real world" footage.

Some things, mainly regarding story progression and steering, felt forced. Still, overall very good.