Alita: Battle Angel (2019)

A deactivated cyborg is revived, but cannot remember anything of her past life and goes on a quest to find out who she is.

Jess’ Review

Alita: Battle Angel was, in short, a bit of a mess. There was so much potential to create something great, with brilliant source material from established manga series Gunm, and yet it was all a bit cluttered. Helmed by newly-revived, teenage cyborg Alita (Rosa Salazar), the film follows her through a series of action-packed events as she attempts to discover her origins. It’s a lot to pack in with not only a plethora of characters but also an entire, unique cyberpunk world to craft and give adequate attention to. Director Robert Rodríguez doesn’t do a terrible job, but for me, the ask of condensing this universe into not even a two-hour film seems nigh impossible.   The plot is fast-moving and it quickly becomes apparent to me that Alita’s story is far too expansive to fully invest yourself in. We jump from dilemma to dilemma, barely acknowledging a big reveal as we’re suddenly swept off to meet a new character. It’s break-neck, and to me, a bit sloppy. There’s little heart, and even less time to digest this onslaught of events. Still, I guess you can’t say it’s boring. The acting is ok, but I fear this is weakened on account of some rather questionable writing. The dialogue is awkward in places, and even with some big-name stars like Christoph Waltz and Mahershala Ali, there was no saving it. Rather, the main draw of this film comes from two areas - firstly the visual design, and secondly the action sequences. The world in which Alita: Battle Angel is set is abundant in history and intrinsically crafted through wonderful visual effects. It’s full of life, drawing us in to marvel at this outlandish cyberpunk world and all of it’s technically-enhanced inhabitants. And it’s the richness of these visuals that makes me inclined to check out the original series. The designs are creative, and the computer effects - for the most part, do well in bringing them to life. Even if Alita’s eyes are quite unsettling. The second strength of this film is the action. To be fair, the fight scenes are pretty damn cool. Whilst this is far from Rodriguez’s best work (see his glory days with Tarantino), he’s clearly having fun with these intense, jam-packed shots of brawling robots and keeps the audience hooked. He does action well, and even tiptoes into a surreal realm of PG-13 gore with cyborg dismemberment. Alita: Battle Angel wasn’t for me. It was too ambitious a project and too impossibly packed to hold any kind of weight or substance. The film felt vapid. And whilst the designs and battle scenes were awesome, it just wasn’t a good film.

4.5/10

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Sam’s Review

Uncanny valley. I googled it almost immediately after the film began. Essentially the theory is, if a robot resembles a human too closely they become repulsive. With her wide, emoting eyes and metal body, Alita made me uneasy from the moment she entered the frame. I grew used to it, but for a reason I cannot explain, I was unsettled at first.

The film is based on a manga series, and clearly expects the audience to have read up on the source material. It moves quickly, skimming over plot points and unfairly expecting the audience to keep up. Thrust into the bustling mechanical metropolis of Iron City, we are introduced to a futuristic culture with an intriguing class system. There is an abundance of rich history. The world building is spectacular, and is as thorough as the sports they play. We are teased with the depth this story has, but it never materialises.

Instead, it’s reduced to a bland story. The characters are two dimensional, there’s the odd plot hole, and poor writing. The dialogue is clunky, as if the writers were determined to make this a dumbed-down action film. Perhaps no film could effectively capture the vastness of this story within the constraints of two hours, but they could have at least attempted to.

For the large majority of it, the visual effects are stunning. Yet, in moments, especially certain action scenes, it’s as if the budget was slashed and the visuals look awkwardly fake. It’s disappointing, and snaps you right out of the action. Yet this is what video games aspire to be, make no mistake. When it works, it’s an electrifying blend of steampunk sci-fi fantasy that is done impressively well.

It most definitely does not live up to its potential. As a fan of fantasy, good world building is a must for me in projects of this calibre. I need to be transported into a living and breathing ecosystem that has an answer for religion, class system, etc. And this did. Yet the filmmakers abandoned it, instead content to show us shiny things. With a lot of references to future events, as well as the story being left open, the filmmakers were clearly focused on using the limited screen time to set up sequels, in the hopes of building a franchise, instead of telling an epic tale. Still, it’s passable, and will have sci-fi, and even fantasy, lovers entertained enough to wonder what could have been.

6/10