A rare muti-million dollar blockbuster infused with confidence and purposeful action, led by an outstanding Rosa Salazar.
From the mind within the man that doesn’t find the swimming in Aquaman realistic (I know what he actually said, I just did it for the laughs. Okay?) comes James Cameron’s next big budget fund, Alita: Battle Angel.
Based off the Japanese titled manga, Gunnm, Cameron has been working on this project since 2000. After years of development hell and delays, Cameron’s long-time friend Robert Rodriguez (Sin City) helms the project as director, and Rosa Salazar stars as the wide-eyed title character, Alita.
Set in the Iron City, years after the cataclysmic event known as, “The Fall”, Dr. Ido (a fatherly Christoph Waltz) discovers a working cyborg dumped from the high society known as, Zalem. Little is known (or remembered?) about Zalem from Alita’s perspective, and after her re-birth at the hands of Ido, we learn more about the dense world that they reside in.
Usually, I would never start with a negative take on a film to begin a review if it were a film I felt positive towards. Considering there is so much good I took away from Alita, I just want to get my issues with some elements of the script out of the way. Penned by James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez, they may have included a few too many elements here that could have been saved for a later installment (even though there probably won’t be one), and the relationship between Alita and Hugo (a mediocre Keean Johnson) is completely undercooked. For the most part, the dialogue here is perfectly serviceable. Ranging somewhere in between just enough exposition and not enough to feel like information overload. There are certainly scenes dedicated to explaining the world, but it’s kept relatively brief and it keeps the film moving at an efficient pace. As for Hugo and Alita, the dialogue here needed finer tuning. It feels entirely out of place, unearned, and unmotivated from an otherwise outstanding Rosa Salazar. This felt like one of those moves an older suited guy would be adamant about a movie requiring some sort of romantic energy that doesn’t particularly need one. Especially when the emotional crutch between Alita and her “father” Ido is already well done. The Alita and Hugo relationship concludes poorly with a scene that lacks any sort of emotional punch, and solely exists to set-up a potential future motivation. Other than that, Alita: Battle Angel absolutely soars.
Structurally, Alita works within the confines of a pretty focused beginning, middle, and end. With each act of this arc concluding with a riveting set piece that delivers some of the finest, most purposeful action we’ve seen in a blockbuster in quite some time. Where most blockbusters (primarily dominated by comic-book movies) get lost in weightless scale due to a lack of inspiring direction, Rodriguez promises there is still hope to believe that action in blockbusters can still deliver awe and wonder. Each action beat here is purposeful in enhancing character and narrative. The camera operates within an established space and choreographs multiple subjects within the frame with ease, tension, and perfectly timed slow-motion. The wondrous sound design definitely enhances the meat of these beats, and it’s a film with multiple unforgettable action sequences.
I’d also like to take the time to mention how truly spectacular the visual effects are here. For a movie that has 200 million dollars behind it, you would hope that they better deliver the visual flare of a future dystopia. I feel as if we’ve become accustomed to expecting middling VFX from big budget films, and once more Alita fulfills promises of what many other blockbusters haven’t or cannot. Even if it’s financial suicide domestically to input so much cash to guarantee stimulating VFX, it definitely pays off in dividends as the world, story, and protagonist all benefit from this funding. It’s a film with a special type of confidence that isn’t afraid to know what it is and rides with it from beginning to end.
Surprisingly, after months of anticipating a dumpster fire, I am happy to report that Alita: Battle Angel is a great film. It’s narrative isn’t particularly unique, it’s romance angle is short-changed, and the dialogue could use some tune ups, but it gets the job done as an origin story. Cameron and Rodriguez bring to life a world that looks familiar, but is infused with so much of its own personality and style that it feels transportive. Sure, the world building gets a bit dense, but the beating heart of this story is Alita and Rosa Salazar’s earnest, fierce, and cheer worthy performance. She brings a prominent physicality to the role in a motion capture performance, and it hopefully means a bright future ahead. Go see Alita: Battle Angel on the biggest, best, and loudest screen possible because it may be the last time 20th Century Fox delivers something special.
Alita: Battle Angel gets a 80/100