Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
Release: February 14, 2019
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Producers: James Cameron, Jon Landau
Based on: Gunnm by Yukito Kishiro
Music: Tom Holkenborg
Cast: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley
Malevolent Synopsis:
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.
Review:
Watch my detailed video review of Alita: Battle Angel !
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPXzORHc9WI[/embedyt]
I had high expectations for this movie, because the trailer looked amazing and James Cameron produced it. The movie actually starts off well where we meet the characters and an overview of the overall plot. In fact the movie is very gripping in the first half and held my interest completely.
But things go downhill during the second half. In fact, I can pinpoint exactly when the story went downhill for me. It was the scene when Chiren confides with Alita in the church in the second half. From then on, the story moves at a rapid pace where if you blink, you will probably miss a scene. There are just so many things happening from this point that it is difficult to keep up with the pacing. It felt like the writers wanted to just put in all the remaining storyline that was mentioned in the original series into the movie to make sure everything was wrapped up, but the pacing completely goes for a toss.
On the positive side, the special effects and VFX are topnotch and shows how realistic Alita looks, yet you can make out that she is a cyborg and different from the others. The locations and the action sequences between Alita and the cyborg assassins are amazing, and definitely worth watching in 3D. Some of the scenes that stood out for me was when Alita plays Motorball with the other assassins, and when she goes underwater to discover what is inside the ship. Another major highlight for me was the background score. The music is just phenomenal and gave that movie the special touch.
But again, on the negative side, apart from the pacing, I felt that the actors did not stand out in their roles. In fact, I felt like they could have casted better actors for some roles, especially the actor playing Hugo.
Overall, I loved watching the first half of the movie, and was disappointed with the second half, so I would give Alita:Battle Angel, a rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars.
