Not Completely Human

Alita: Battle Angel

Rating: PG-13

3.5 out of 5

Upon the announcement—and later the trailer— for this film, I was not only exhilarated to hear of director Robert Rodriguez at helm of the project, but excited also to discover that [Rodriguez] would be teaming up film master James Cameron (credited as producer) to adapt the popular manga series, Battle Angel Alita.

The story is set in a parallel of worlds, portraying the prosperous sky city of Tiphares ruling above, and the more primitive (so to speak) locale below dubbed The Scrapyard, where danger necessitates everyone to either join forces, or individually morph into the darkness.

We first encounter Alita (played Rosa Salazar, via motion capture) as she is discovered amongst the mountains of Tiphares borne garbage by Dr. Dyson Ido (played by Christoph Waltz). Ido, amazed at this beautiful and broken creation, brings her back home to his cyber-shop to fix her up. Eventually the young cyborg wakes up, and, like a child, is instantly enamored with every single thing around her. She has been “reborn” into a new mechanical body, and—without a single memory of her past life—Ido goes to great lengths to preserve her innocence, guiding her amongst the treachery life on the surface can bring.

Alita’s inquisitive and unique appearance catches the eye of Hugo (Keean Johnson), a teen who quickly furthers her knowledge as they spend her first day exploring the streets, eating chocolate, and becoming good friends. But with each passing moment— with every newly digested sight, sound, and smell— the bionic youth slowly begins to receive visions; flashbacks faintly depicting a life of violence, as well as bravery in her past. And with these memories erratically shot towards her, she uncovers immense abilities within herself. She’ll be able to put her battle skills to good use when mysterious entity, Nova, grows closer with multitudes of thugs and bounty hunters set on her tail. But not only is the warrior’s life at stake, but also the lives of her friends.

The young cyborg practicing her newfound fighting skills

The visuals (although not topping the phenomenal graphics Cameron’s Avatar gave in 2009—ten years ago!) were really stunning, opening up a temporary portal to a place boasting techno-advanced characters and worlds, as well as guarantee for a fun and action packed 2 hour trip! It’s incredible to see how far technology in film has come.

Brilliantly choreographed and complex fight scenes were a real treat to partake in as well! At many times, you felt not like the usual, distanced spectator you always were, but instead experienced everything from a view of immersion and excitement. Hats off to the artists behind Alita and her world, who made the tough decisions on how the 23rd century might look like to us (all imagination).

Though, action sequences are not all a film needs to support itself. The story itself was interesting, leading one to think of what more could take place in the crazy, futuristic setting. Select characters, although holding a strong role in the beginning, began to decrease in weight as the story grew on. Certain moments of tenderness, and some meant for tragedy, morphed into slightly cheesier versions of themselves, causing one to give way to a giggle. Oscar-winning talents such as Christoph Waltz and Mahershala Ali graced this film with their roles in this movie, but were never set into anything drastically different, leaning towards a near shallow depth of character development.

Alita ready to beat up Ed Skrein as cocky bounty hunter, Zapan.

The premise reminded me a bit of the 2009 film adaption of the animated Astro Boy series, in which Freddie Highmore voices a young robot boy who, after being rejected from a superior sky city, falls to the surface, building for himself a new life with new friendships. Not exactly the same, similar in concept though.

I would say that Alita: Battle Angel stands as a great resurrection of the—decade absent—Cameron sci-fi film, and is likely slated for a sequel on the way. I hear people say that “Alita gives a big look into what the Avatar sequels will be like”, but I don’t think so. My view is that you can’t judge what you don’t know. I strive to apply this to people, to food, and to films. Absolutely, I want to see the wonderful Toy Story 4, or The Irishman from the masterful Martin Scorsese, or even part two of a King saga I spend hiding my eyes from Pennywise the Dancing Clown; but it takes a little more open mindedness to take a nice look at the “Will Smith Genie” from the new Aladdin, or to observe the prospect of Captain Marvel being the answer to the shocking end that is Infinity War. I could be proved painfully wrong, and I would be happy then, but also somewhat disappointed at my premature judgment. So let’s all work on being open to the new, foreign, or weird; because chances are, you could be watching the next “Titanic”, or witnessing the birth of a new star. Though let that not be your only motivation. Be excited for the change life brings.