Set several centuries in the future, the abandoned Alita is found in the scrapyard of Iron City by Ido, a compassionate cyber-doctor who takes the unconscious cyborg Alita to his clinic. When Alita awakens, she has no memory of who she is, nor does she have any recognition of the world she finds herself in. As Alita learns to navigate her new life and the treacherous streets of Iron City, Ido tries to shield her from her mysterious past.
Initial release: February 14, 2019 (USA)
Adapted from: Battle Angel Alita Trending
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Budget: 200 million USD
Production companies: 20th Century Fox, Lightstorm Entertainment, Troublemaker Studios, TSG Entertainment
Audience reviews
I was lucky enough to see the cyborg epic Alita Battle Angel last week at a preview, after two decades of hearing about this film being in the works , if you're a fan of Science Fiction and action cinema, this film is a must to be seen on the big screen, the films producer James Cameron (The Terminator, Aliens, T2, Avatar) has made some of the best films of the last century and has always broken new ground visually.
Although he's is a producer and co-scriptwriter on this passion project this film is no exception, director Robert Rodriguez (From Dusk Till Dawn, Sin City, Planet Terror) has absolutely brought Cameron's vision of the Japanese manga to the screen in the best way possible with his own great filmmaking stamp, this was always going be a hard story to adapt and could only be done by filmmakers of this calibre.
The heart and soul of this film is Alita her motion captioned performance by Rosa Salazer has to be seen to be believed, this is nuanced performance that shows the innocence and vulnerability of this character when she awakened by Dr Dyson Ido played by a always brilliant Christoph Waltz, when Alita start remembering her past and starts to fit together the reason for her existence , this story is handled very well.
By the time Alita's full potential is unleashed ao cyborg warrior, this film becomes so satisfying and enjoyable, Robert Rodriguez's direction and camera work is a revelation, also a big thumbs up to the editor, the action is not only breathtaking and kinetic, you can clearly see the everything in amazing wide shots, instead of loads of quick edits which blur the action for alot of cg heavy films, one of my favourite scenes is when she takes on other cyborgs in a bar, there's also a lovely homage to one of the directors previous films From Dusk Till Dawn.
The film is not a total success when it comes to story, dialogue and final structure, there is alot of exposition explained via other characters to help explain to Alita and to us as an audience about the dystopian future of this film, this felt a bit rushed, and theres a love story you will either find believable or corny.
This films supporting cast is underused in many places, namely one villain Vector played Mahershala Ali and Chiren played by Jennifer Connelly (my teenage crush from the classic 80's dark kid's fantasy film Labyrinth) but this is more than made up for by the brilliant cyborg adversary Zapan played by Ed Skrein.
Technically this film is a revelation, Peter Jacksons (Lord of the Rings) company Weta digital have raised the bar again, we all expect great visuals from a 200 million dollar film, but this film is another true leap from what was done on Avatar a decade ago, Alita was also shot in 3D like that film, most films are converted into 3D, so the stereoscopic effect is not as great, the depth perception on this film in this format was strikingly clear, but to be honest just watching it in any cinema will do this film justice.
I also need to give props to veteran cinematographer Bill Pope (Natural Born Killers, The Matrix) and to composer Junkie XL (Mad Max Fury Road) for such a great pulse pounding score.
My final thoughts on the film is that whist it isn't on the level some of Cameron other achievements like The Terminator, Aliens or T2, that bar is so high so it would have been unrealistic anyway, but if your a sci-fi fan and want to see a very enjoyable film that certainly wears it's heart on its sleeve, you won't be disappointed. The he film is on national release from today so take your valentine and just give into Alita's big eyes and you will be rewarded, what can be more romantic then seeing a female cyborg kick some ass!
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