hbenthow
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In the months leading up the the release of "Alita: Battle Angel", I wasn't particularly interested in it, not having been impressed by its marketing. However, I was intrigued by the disconnect between the critical and audience reactions upon its release (as I write this, its Rotten Tomatoes page features a "rotten" 59% critics' rating and an even worse 35% top critics' rating, but a 94% audience rating), and decided to give it a chance. And having now seen it, I am in agreement with the audience consensus rather than the critical one.
While Robert Rodriguez is the director, it feels very much like the work of James Cameron (who co-produced and co-wrote it, and has been developing it since 2003). Had I not known better, I would have assumed that Cameron himself had directed it. The effects and visuals are as impressive as one would expect from the team behind "Avatar". Alita's anime-style large eyes cease to give off an "uncanny valley" feeling after a few minutes of getting used to them, and give her a very endearing and expressive appearance. The worldbuilding is excellent, and the futuristic setting feels visceral and "lived-in".
The supporting cast as a whole ranges from good to excellent, with Christoph Waltz being the biggest standout of the bunch. But it's Alita herself, played beautifully by Rosa Salazar, that commands the screen. Alita is not quite like any other character that I've ever seen. She doesn't fit into a "box". Her personality is a mix of vulnerability and strength, kindness and ferocity, and independence and loyalty. And those traits don't contradict or conflict with each other. They coexist and complement each other. Action movies generally have to strike a balance between portraying the hero as formidable and making you fear for his or her fate. This movie does that extraordinarily well. Alita is simultaneously very formidable and very vulnerable, which makes for both better suspense and a more exhilarating feeling whenever she has one of her many hero moments. Salazar has the kind of pure-hearted but fierce screen presence that Chris Evans and Gal Gadot have used to great effect in recent years. There are multiple moments that nearly gave me chills (including the one in which Alita gets the "war paint" seen in some of the posters).
James Cameron's movies, even those of the action and science fiction variety, tend to have a strong emotional core to them, with human emotions and relationships being the focus. This is very much the case with "Alita". As intense and suspenseful as the action is, it always feels like it is in service of the story and Alita's personal journey, rather than the other way around.
It's sort of hard to explain exactly what this movie is like. It's an endearing, heartwarming story about a pure-hearted protagonist who (literally and figuratively) looks at the world through wide eyes, but also dark, disturbing dystopian science fiction in the vein of "Robocop" and "Rollerball". It isn't workmanlike like Rupert Sanders' "Ghost in the Shell". It's a passion project that's full of energy and heart. The trailers don't really do it justice, and I'm not sure that any description could either. And I'd rather not spoil too much. It has to be seen to be fully understood.
The only significant complaint that I have is that the third act has quite a bit of of sequel-bait. But overall, I am very impressed by the movie as a whole, and strongly hope that it gets the sequels that Cameron has said that he has planned for it. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes cyberpunk, anime or manga, dystopian science fiction, or movies that fit somewhat into the superhero genre without featuring its typical conventions.
As far as fanedit ideas go, I think that there might be potential for edits that remove some sequel-bait and make the ending more standalone.