Yukito Kishiro’s manga Battle Angel Alita has finally been brought to the big screen with the help of James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez. Cameron’s adaptation had been in works for quite some time. Ultimately the screenplay was stalled as James Cameron was focused on another little project called Avatar… As the screenplay mired, it was essentially passed to Robert Rodriguez to usher into theaters where nearly 30 years later fans of the original manga have something to clamor to. Alita: Battle Angel will not create the same impact that Avatar did, nor will it shine from the same innovations that hyped the first 3D films, however it still displays an action-packed experience.
Alita (Rosa Salazar) is recovered from a scrap yard by Dr. Ido (Christoph Waltz) who realizes that he has found something rather special. Dr. Ido pieces Alita back together, and as he reassembles the female cyborg back to life, he guides her around Iron City. Alita is captivated by her new world and like any annoying 6-year-old, questions everything. We learn very quickly that Dr. Ido lost his only daughter in an incident at his clinic, hence the overbearing supervision of Alita. Yet like every budding individual, curiosity gets the best of Alita as she explores Iron City and quickly stirs a relationship with the local kids. She becomes rather close with a boy named Hugo (Keean Johnson) who offers Alita a larger scope of her new surroundings. Hugo explains to her that Iron City is rather a dump and a place where the strong prey on the weak. He plans on going to Zalem which is a floating city that most likely hosts an upper echelon of life. Think of the similarity that Panem has with the poorer districts in The Hunger Games. Everyone wants to go to Zalem, and most individuals will do anything to achieve this dream.
Survival is key when inhabiting Iron City, and as Alita discovers more about her past and the abilities within her, she quickly decides that she needs to rid the city of all the scum. Alita’s reputation and actions garner her some unwanted attention not only from all the local bounty hunters but also from people higher up on the food chain. Vector (Mahershala Ali) and Dr. Chiren (Jennifer Connely) are two individuals who have connections to very powerful people in Zalem, (also run a cyborg chop shop) and are hell bent on capturing Alita and destroying her.
So many things work in Alita: Battle Angel while other aspects faulter. Visually the CG and 3D filmmaking is extremely well done and some of the best out there (must see in 3D). The film offers many memorable scenes such as the cyborg bar fight and Motorball games. The entire setting of the film is accounted for with its cyberpunk dystopian aesthetic. There isn’t a shortage of neon lights and futuristic cyborg fashion. Presenting such a setting is the film’s greatest success, where as the plot tends to drag its feet behind all the heart pounding action. So many questions will arise after viewing the film and this is entirely expected. Afterall, this movie is an adaptation of much larger source material that can’t be jammed into a 2-hour film. As a result, you will be left wondering about so many of the plot gaps which will most likely aid future productions. Overall Alita: Battle Angel serves as a fun and satisfying origin story. The clunky dialogue and tedious plot are not enough to bring a casual viewer down. Perhaps more loyal fans to the original material will nitpick all the specifics but most of us are here for the fireworks, and who doesn’t like fireworks…
