The visuals and CGI in this film are breathtaking, as you would expect from producer James Cameron; however, they don’t make this film and they never take center stage. The focus is always on Alita, a cyborg girl empowered by advanced lost technology who tries and struggles to find, and understand herself. Watching Alita grow, fall, and begin to hold her own ground made this movie for me. Too often I’ve seen sci-fi films, such as this, get caught up in their own world, forgetting the substance that comprises it. Here, though, the entire world is built around the main character and her experiences, she comes to life and the CGI is there to only further make her world believable to us; this truly is “Alita: Battle Angel”.
The story was originally conceived as a manga spread over 9 volumes. This film; however, only deals with the first 3 or 4, and there are plans, if this film is a hit, to make further screen adaptations. And for all the trash that this film received for blatently trying to set-up a sequel, I have to admit, I left the theater wanting to see more.
Alita, played amazingly by Rosa Salazar, is at the heart of this film, and I’m glad to say that Rodrigues and Cameron never lose sight of this. We see her mature from an innocent girl to someone more scarred and confident. It was an absolute joy to see a genuinely enthralling character come to life so brilliantly. And I hope Cameron and Rodriguez make more Alita films because I want to see where Alita goes, what she becomes, and how her story plays out. This one film has achieved quite a bit with her character and I can only imagine where they can take her next.
My biggest complaint about the film though, is that the introduction into Alita’s world felt rushed. I wish the film took more time to let us get acquainted with Chiren and Hugo before going into greater plot depth with them. Because of this, some moments between these characters felt unbelievable and not well set-up. Alita’s relationship with Hugo especially suffers from this, their first contact felt too contrived but they do grow on you once you let go of that initial resistance to believe them as a couple.
The most interesting aspect of this film by-far, though is Alita’s relationship with Dr. Ido. It is extremely well fleshed out, more so than any of the others, and seeing them argue and become vulnerable with each other is one of the most satisfying moments of this film. There is a great deal of depth in their interactions that push their characters forward in unique ways.
Alita, has it’s flaws but I can’t deny that it also has great potential, and there is enough in this film that left me wanting more. Nowadays, we have many movie franchises, and many that fail to really capture my interest but Alita is something different. It has a message and main character that’s really something else, it’s not so superficial as some are making it out to be, and I hope people go out to see it and give it a chance.
