*”Alita: Battle Angel” is the perfect personification of the power of big screen extravaganzas.
This is an absolutely gorgeous film, an incredibly immersive experience. It is a film that demands you see it on the biggest screen you can.
For the uninitiated, “Alita” is a cyberpunk action film based on Yukito Kishiro’s manga series “Gunnm”, which is also known as “Battle Angel: Alita”. It is directed by Robert Rodriguez, written by James Cameron and Laeta Kalogordis and produced by Cameron and Jon Landau.
Cameron has been interested in bringing this film to the big screen since 2000 and for years was slated to direct, but a little film named “Avatar” and it’s looong in development sequels got in the way. However, after nearly two decades – it remained a passion project – and it’s easy to see why.
OTHER NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: Alfre Woodard Tries Comedy in New Netflix Film ‘Juanita’ – WATCH TRAILER
On February 14, #Alita chooses her own destiny. Get your tickets at https://t.co/9oEGhwKxdT. pic.twitter.com/tfRPyfOmqL
— Alita: Battle Angel (@AlitaMovie) February 12, 2019
Iron City, where a majority of the film takes place, is gorgeous. The effects, which include a main character, Alita, who is completely CGI, are breathtaking. This is the freshest, most outstanding use of special effects in a film since “Avatar”, with an even more impressive mix of live-action and computer-generated imagery. Cameron has stated he spent 10 months developing new technology for “Alita” – and it shows in every frame.
But it is the unique look of Alita herself, who was produced using using Cameron innovations like the Fusion Camera System, facial performance capture and Simulcam. The character looks like an anime doll come to life, just short of being completely normal or human. Which may be intentional, since she ISN’T human. Which should be obvious and is hammered home time and again as she performs ever-astonishing feats. But one can’t help but look in her eyes or hear a syllable from her voice and find humanity.
The choice to have Alita, as a photo-real CGI creation interacting with actual human characters was pretty darn ambitious, yet it pays off. From the moment Dr. Dyson Ido (an excellent Christoph Walz) finds a disembodied female cyborg with a fully intact human brain, rebuilds her and names her “Alita” after his deceased daughter, we can’t take our eyes off her or her wide eyes.
Alita (awesomely portrayed by Rosa Salazar) is an incredible creation. She has an innocence about her, accentuated by her huge eyes. The moment she appears, your eyes focus on her and can’t let go.
One character who would agree with that is a teenage boy named Hugo (Keenan Johnson), who quickly has romantic designs on Alita. He also introduces her to the competitive sport of Motorball, which leads her to a memorable scene where she has to take on a whole bunch of cyborgs who not only want to win, but fight to the death.
Mahershala Ali is Vector. The hunt for #Alita begins February 14. pic.twitter.com/uT5rSjzIR0
— Alita: Battle Angel (@AlitaMovie) February 7, 2019
Before that, we have Alita discovering that Ido is not only a scientist, but a Hunter-Warrior when she follows him home one night and they encounter three cyborg assassins led by Grewishka (Jackie Earle Haley), a huge cyborg that works for Nova (Edward Norton) – a Zalem scientist who has the ability to transfer his consciousness into other people’s bodies – as his personal assassin.
As the somewhat amnesiac Alita rips through the trio, we get one of the most memorable “coming into their own” scenes in cinematic history. Amazingly, the film and the fights just get better from there.
This is a film that totally enthralls. It feels fresh by constantly hitting you with fight choreography and special effects to create scenes you have never seen before.
As Alita recalls her skill in the martial art of “Panzer Kunst”, the film takes your breath away at a more rapid pace. It is an absolutely unique experience, an immersive experience that must be watched in 3-D and on the biggest screen possible.
If there is a minor quibble, it is that there is so much going on, yet stars like Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Lana Condor and Michelle Rodriguez get relatively little time to shine.
But, as it is, “Alita” barely has time to scratch the potential of it’s main character.
Here’s hoping a well-deserved sequel fixes that.
In the meantime, enjoy one of the most fantastic films you’ll ever see — in theaters Feb 14.
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!
