Review of 'Alita: Battle Angel'
In Iron City Dr. Ido (Christoph Waltz) is searching for cyborg parts discarded from the floating city of Zalem when he stumbles across the remains of an advanced female cyborg. He returns with her to his lab and rebuilds her using a spare cyber body, calling her “Alita” (Rosa Salazar). Alita has no memories of where she came from but is brought up as Ito's daughter. Alita befriends a boy named Hugo who dreams of travelling to Zalem. Alita discovers that Ido is a “Hunter-Warrior”, someone who hunts criminals for money, when she follows him out one night. When they are attacked Alita recalls memories of her past life and uses her skills with the ancient martial art called “Panzer Kunst” to kill the attackers. Ito's former partner Chiren (Jennifer Connelly) left when their original daughter died and desires a return to Zalem, where they originally lived. Chiren works for Vector (Mahershala Ali) who is the boss of the brutal Iron City Motorball competition, who promises to return her to Chren. When Chiren and Vector discover Alita's power they are ordered by Nova, a Zalem scientist, to kill Alita in exchange for Chiren being returned to Zalem. As Alita's memory returns, her powers increase, will anyone be able to stop her?
Yeah, it is a bit of a mad plot but somehow, when you are watching the film, it all makes sense and it works. Based on the long-running Japanese manga and anime, “Alita: Battle Angel” is a long-awaited life-action film of the story that appears to largely stay faithful to the source material. The sets and action sequences are amazing and Alita herself is incredibly kinetic and amazing to watch as she chews up the scenery. It really is a lot of fun to watch despite the infrequent, but brutal, violence. It does drag a bit towards the middle but ramps up the action as the end approaches…
A great adaptation of an amazing anime.
Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”
Review Date: 2022-08-07
Directed by: Robert Rodriguez
Studio: Twentieth Century Fox
Year: 2019
Length: 122 minutes
Genre: Action/Adventure
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0437086/
Other reviewed films by Robert Rodriguez:
- Planet Terror (2007)
Other reviewed films by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller:
- Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014)