Let’s face it: most American films that try to adapt a story from Japanese anime fall under scrutiny for condensing it into a story with no substance. However, a hope for a good anime adaptation from Hollywood comes in the form of a cyborg referred to as an Angel.
In February 2019, acclaimed film producer James Cameron and director Robert Rodriguez teamed up with 20th Century Fox to deliver film adaptation based of the 1990s Japanese manga series “Battle Angel Alita.” The film was in development since 2003 due to delays from James Cameron’s work in other projects, until Rodriguez came in to direct in 2016. Though critics have given it mixed reviews, audiences have praised the film for its story, interesting characters and special effects that make it stand out as the first great anime adaptation from Hollywood.
“Alita: Battle Angel” takes place in the distant future, where a devastating conflict known as the Fall left the Earth ravaged in scavenger cities such as the setting of the dystopian Iron City. A weary doctor named Ido finds a discarded android and revives her, which he names Alita. Alita wakes up with no memory but makes her way to learn about her past and interact with her environment from making friends and participating in bounty hunting to fighting injustice while being hunted by a mysterious entity named Nova. While the film was criticized for sequel baiting, the movie faithfully follows some of the storylines from the first two volumes of the original manga, while adding moments that weren’t included in the original video animation to be more faithful to the story. It also organically gives the audience bits of world building for them to piece together the story and gain investment in the story. Another area where the movie excels is its characters and their interactions.
Rosa Salazar shines as the titular cyborg, who is both skilled in combat and in her interactions with the characters. She is a strong character not just by her strength and determined attitude, but by recognizing her flaws by learning more about the world. She would go into situations that would be over her head and, while she would come out on top, she does suffer injuries and adapts accordingly. Another character that shines is Christoph Waltz as Dr. Ido, who manages to convey a complex father figure for Alita and a fierce fighter that is caring and supportive of her. Both characters really get you invested with their stories and their personal journeys as the film progresses.
An interesting element of the film is the CGI on both the robotic characters and the environments. Each of the characters from the sports athletes, bounty hunters and criminals all have a unique design practical use of CGI. When watching the film, I was interested in the design of each character, including Alita’s cyborg armour that made me curious about how it functions and how the weapons the characters use look like they are leaping off the screen. Another interesting element is Alita’s eyes, which resemble the eyes an anime character. Her eyes really shine by having her stand out with her android origin and overall design.
Finally, the battle sequences within the film are intense and really unique to follow. Moments like the underground fight and Motorball battle allow Alita and her opponents to fight fluidly and create an intense atmosphere. Also, the characters interact with the environment with Iron City, allowing some creative kills and takedowns from the characters. The battles combined with the creative character designs and brutal fight scenes creates a wild ride for audiences that you will enjoy.
Overall, “Alita: Battle Angel” is an interesting action adventure with good characters, creative designs with CGI, and a subtle world building that allows viewers to be part of the world as they watch. Although the movie may be teasing for a sequel in the future, I would be interested in learning more about the world of “Alita: Battle Angel” and have the characters interact separate from the world. The successes of this film show that there was a lot of love and appreciation put in by the directors while working with the story and giving a fantastic film that can hopefully be explored more in the future. Gear up your weapons and prepare yourself for a thrill ride with epic battles and surprising depth.
“Alita: Battle Angel” is rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and for some language.
