Alita: Battle Angel
Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
Image From IMDB
Robert Rodriguez directing a big Sci-Fi Produced by James Cameron was always going to be something I got behind. I’ve been a fan of Rodriguez since the El Mariachi days and have read his book like twenty times. Seeing him helm such a massive production felt deserved. Like he had earned the opportunity more than any other director whose career I had followed. And the end result was great.
Alita: Battle Angel is about a cyborg (Rosa Salazar) who is found in a scrapheap and is given a body and a second chance by a brilliant doctor (Christoph Waltz). She can’t remember who she was, but is determined to find out when she discovers she can kick some serious ass. While trying to protect those around her, she’s also looking upwards at the last sky city knowing that the answer to her questions may lay within it rich restrictive walls. But can she get there? And can she get the answers she’s looking for?
This moved is packed. We have flashbacks of a futuristic war on the moon. Cyborgs. Robot Wars Roller Murderball. Christoph Waltz being his amazing self. A cyberpunk city. A love story in-between a slasher plot. Bounty Hunters. And a sweet young girl who can fuck up absolutely everyone. It is not short of ideas, to the point of almost being to rich of a world, but i’m okay with that.
I love the futuristic elements of this story. The world feels lived in. I just want to explore it. The robot centurions patrolling streets filled with humans with robotic implants fascinates me no end. This multicultural society that exists because the world almost ended is a setting where hundreds of stories could be told. The setup and location is fantastic.
Within that we do have somewhat of a basic story but that’s fine. I don’t think it needed to be overly complex. A cyborg trying to find out who they really are while an oppressive force tries to stop them is very sci-fi. It means a lot of this amazing world is left unexplored, but that’s what sequels or novels are for. The movie can’t have fifteen different plots.
And I really liked the characters too. All of them. I don’t think there’s a single character who I didn’t want to know a little more about from Alita and the doctor, to Hugo and the dog master bounty hunter. In a city this rich everyone has a story.
The standout performance even in the middle of this bombastic production and action was Christoph Waltz. He truly is amazing in every role he takes. The way he made you feel about Alita and his own life is some next level acting. I feel like his performance made the movie smarter. Without him it could have been a dumber sci-fi action flick, but he brought the emotion and stakes big-time, especially in his relationship with Salazar’s Alita.
Alita: Battle Angel is a big, fun, loud sci-fi adventure with magnificent world building and intriguing characters. A lot more could have been done within the world but the story told was decent and everyone played their role. It’s a movie and a world that deserved a sequel and i’ll always feel robbed that we never got one. Still, at least we have fifteen thousand generic superhero movies instead.
