Skip to main content

Alita: Battle Angel Movie Review

“I do not stand by in the presence of evil.” - Alita
Alita: Battle Angel is the new film by director Robert Rodriguez.  It is a cyberpunk sci-fi action movie starring Rosa Salazar as the title character.  Also starring are Christoph Waltz, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jennifer Connelly, and Jackie Earle Haley.  The film is about Alita, a young cyborg girl rebuilt by Dr. Dyson Ido (Waltz), who just wants to know more about her past, and where she came from.  Ido is very protective of her, as there is a lot of crime happening in the streets. Nonetheless, the curious Alita goes out exploring every day, and meets a boy named Hugo who she falls in love with.  Meanwhile, there is some villainous activity going on involving a man named Vector, and a mysterious figure called Nova who lives in Zalem, a giant floating city where all the upper-class people live that hovers above the city below that is home to all the lower-class citizens.
Alita: Battle Angel is a very inventive film that really understands the source material, which in this case is a manga called Battle Angel Alita, or as it’s known in Japan, Gunnm.  You could tell that Robert Rodriguez really cared about making a good film when he made this movie.  It is evident that Rodriguez knew what he was doing with Alita.  
The acting in this film is overall pretty good, but the standout performance here is most definitely Christoph Waltz as Dyson Ido.  His character is really well developed, and his line delivery is fantastic. Rosa Salazar is also great as Alita, and you could really see that she was committed to the role she played.  
One thing I have to mention when talking about Alita is the visual effects.  They are honestly spectacular.  Everything just pops out at you, and the colors are all so beautiful and bright.  The visuals reminded me very much of the Blade Runner films.  I really liked the futuristic setting, and found the locations very interesting.  Probably my favorite aspect of this film was the excellent Motorball sequences. I thought that the sport was really thrilling to watch.  It obviously drew heavy, heavy influence from the little-known 1975 sci-fi sports film Rollerball, starring James Caan.  Watching Alita play this game was riveting.
Some of the things that I disliked about the film had a lot to to do with the acting.  There were some supporting roles whose performances were a bit lacking. Some of the line delivery was very flat, and some scenes just could’ve been acted better, to put it bluntly.  Overall though, Alita: Battle Angel is a very enjoyable film that I found myself having a good time with.
Rating: PG-13

Grade: B

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Carnivàle Series Review

“Pain is an unavoidable side effect.” - Brother Justin Crowe Carnivàle is an HBO original series that ran from 2003 to 2005.  The show was created by Daniel Knauf, and stars Nick Stahl, Clancy Brown, Clea DuVall, Michael J. Anderson, and Tim DeKay.  Set in 1934 during the Dust Bowl, the story follows Ben Hawkins, a young man gifted with extraordinary healing powers, but tortured by horrific visions and dreams.  After the death of his mother, he is picked up by a traveling carnival led by a little person named Samson.  Meanwhile, in a different part of the country, a pious minister named Brother Justin Crowe is building a vast following of churchgoers with the help of his sister Iris.  However, Brother Justin also suffers from terrible visions, and possesses mystical powers of his own.  Connected through their powers, Ben and Brother Justin realize that Armageddon is on the rise, and that everything is building up to one final battle between good and e...
Post a Comment
Read more

Da 5 Bloods Movie Review

“Why do you fight against us, so far away from where you are needed?” - Hanoi Hannah Da 5 Bloods is the newest film directed by Spike Lee, and it stars Delroy Lindo, Clarke Peters, Norm Lewis, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Chadwick Boseman, and Jonathan Majors.  The film tells the tale of four Black veterans who return to Vietnam in the present day to bring home the remains of a fallen soldier.  However, that isn’t their only mission.  They are also there to recover a cache of buried gold and split the money between the four of them.   Da 5 Bloods is an incredibly intense yet heartfelt film, and it’s also very important and relevant to what’s going on in the world today.  It’s an extremely politically charged movie, and while that could be a turn-off for some people, I think it’s the type of film that needs to be seen regardless of who you are.  It’s informative and educational, and it gives the viewer knowledge about our current political climate as well as t...
Post a Comment
Read more