Skip to main content

Alita: Battle Angel Review (Non-Spoilers)

Whilst comic book movies have become a staple in the blockbuster landscape, Manga/Anime adaptations have had a problem getting off the ground. Dragonball: Evolution (2009, James Wong) was hated by anime fans and recently, Ghost In The Shell (2017, Rupert Sanders) failed to click with audiences. But now director Robert Rodriguez (Desperado, Sin City) and Producer James Cameron (Titanic, Avatar) are hoping to change that with their adaptation of the Manga series Alita: Battle Angel.

First Thoughts

This is a good movie. It's fun, exciting and action-packed. The acting in it is quite good and the VFX are incredible. Although, it's not without its problems. Tonally, the film isn't quite sure what it wants to be and the story is quite muddled.

Rosa Salazar/Alita

Rosa Salazar (The Maze Runner, Insurgent) does a really good job as the lead. She's able to do cute-as-a-button and then switches to complete badass on a dime. Alita is a very compelling character, being the most human character in the entire film, and a very good example of a female heroine done well. She's not over-powered but she's not a hopeless either. She's the perfect balance to keep her both out of this world but also quite relatable. One problem with her is that it's unclear what her motives are. Her goals change a fair bit throughout the movie. But this more to do with the movie's story problems than her character. Overall, Alita was a very likeable and interesting character.

Other Characters

Whilst the overall cast of this movie does a pretty good job, the other characters in this film don't really get to shine as much as Alita. Some of them are fairly interesting, such as Dr Ido (Christoph Waltz) and Chiren (Jennifer Connelly), but really aren't given enough time to properly dive into their characters, which is a bit annoying.

Story & Sequel-bating

Another issue with this movie is the story. Whilst it does a good job of world-building, it's not entirely sure what it wants to be. For example, With the aspect of Motorball, following in the footsteps of arena-based dystopia movies such as Hunger Games (2012, Gary Ross), The Running Man (1987, Paul Michael Glaser) and Death Race (2008, Paul Anderson). But it also has a plotline with the Bounty Hunters, which was like cyberpunk John Wick (2014, Chad Staleski). Although both of these plotlines were good, I really think the movie should have gone with one and really worked on it. Instead, the two of them together aren't fully utilised and so come off as half-assed. It also doesn’t help how sequel-dependent the movie is. Towards the end of the movie, it becomes quite clear that this movie is a set-up for a bigger sequel, which is a trap that most up-and-coming franchises fall into. So that element ruined the ending for me.

Action

In terms of action, this movie is incredible! The movie does a really good job of creating out of this world action that's highly engaging. The fight scenes Alita and other cyborgs are incredible to watch, particularly in the movie's final act in the motorball arena which is thrilling, to say the least. My only problem with the action scenes is that they were few and far between. If it had more of it then I think it might have solved some of the movie's pacing problems.

VFX

One of the things that made this movie so engaging was the incredible VFX. The work done to create Alita's look is incredible. She genuinely looks like a real person at times, it's that good! It also helps to create a fully realised world that’s very organic and immersive. The attention to detail on the CGI is astounding. I believe that it could be an early candidate for next year’s Academy Awards.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this is a fun, action-packed enjoyable experience of a movie. However, the plot does let it down due to being a bit muddled and sequel-dependant. If this movie does get a sequel then I believe that these issues could be easily solved.

So that’s my review of Alita: Battle Angel. What did you think of the movie? Do you agree or disagree with anything that I’ve said? Please leave a comment down below. And, if you liked this review then you can follow this blog for more content. Thank you for reading!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Spider-Man: Far From Home Review (No Spider-Man spoilers, Endgame Spoilers)

So after the immense success of Avengers: Endgame (2019, Joe & Anthony Russo) , becoming the 2nd highest grossing movie of all time. And now, Marvel hopes to continue their ongoing story with Season 2 Episode 1. Spider-Man: Far From Home (Jon Watts) . The second movie in the MCU's new Spider-Man trilogy, which has proved incredibly popular with fans of both the MCU and Spider-Man in general. But with things like the events of Endgame to deal with, will this movie be weighed down by the weight of that movie? Or can it possibly hold its own? Marvel has had a pretty good run this year. Hopefully, it doesn't trip at the finish line. Initial Thoughts This is a damn good follow-up to Endgame . It's nowhere near as big in scope but it's definitely a good start to a new chapter in the MCU. Focusing more on the aftermath of Endgame and how Spider-Man is coping in a post-Iron Man world and trying to sort out his life as Peter Parker.  Spider-Man/Peter Parker/Tom Ho...

Spider-Man Out of the MCU? - Situation Review

A couple of days ago it was revealed that re-negotiations between Sony and Disney around Spider-Man have fallen through and the character will be taken out of the MCU entirely. This has come as quite a shock to most fans, especially after the release of the latest movie Spider-Man: Far From Home (John Watts)  which recently passed the $1 Billion mark in the worldwide box office.     So what does this mean for the future of the beloved Superhero? Well in this Situation Review I will be discussing why Sony did what they did and several possibilities for what will happen with Spider-Man. Disney Vs Sony So, the decision comes after Disney wanted to change the deal that they had with Sony so that they would gain 50% of the overall gross of the Spider-Man movies, rather than the 5% that they were currently receiving. A move that Sony wasn't happy with.     Now, if they were only talking about the movies then this would seem like a fair deal. The...

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Review (No Spoilers)

The final episode in the sequel trilogy, and the overall Skywalker Saga, is finally out! Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (2019, J.J Abrams) will hopefully answer the questions that have been set up since the beginning of this trilogy in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015, J.J Abrams) . But due to fans being displeased with this new trilogy, such as the highly negative response from fans after the previous instalment Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017, Rian Johnson)  and with the latest anthology movie Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018, Ron Howard) being a financial disaster, can this movie live up to the success of its predecessors and redeem the franchise in the eyes of fans? First Thoughts This movie is good, I liked it as a movie. The action's good, the visuals are great and the characters are fun to watch. But as a finale to the overall Skywalker Saga, it's quite disappointing. The story feels more like it's trying to make up for lost time rather than tell a good stor...