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- Title: Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
- Director: Robert Rodriguez
- Writers: James Cameron and Laeta Kalogridis
- Stars: Rosa Salazar (Alita), Christoph Waltz (Dr. Dyson Ido), Jennifer Connelly (Chiren), Mahershala Ali (Vector), and Keean Johnson (Hugo)
- Genre(s): Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller
- Runtime: 122 minutes
SHOW RATING OVERVIEW ★★★★ (4.333)
Writing/Story: ★★★★ | Cinematography: ★★★★★ | Character(s)/Acting: ★★★★
IMDB STORYLINE:
Alita is a creation from an age of despair. Found by the mysterious Dr. Ido while trolling for cyborg parts, Alita becomes a lethal, dangerous being. She cannot remember who she is, or where she came from. But to Dr. Ido, the truth is all too clear. She is the one being who can break the cycle of death and destruction left behind from Tiphares. But to accomplish her true purpose, she must fight and kill. And that is where Alita’s true significance comes to bear. She is an angel from heaven. She is an angel of death. Written by Anthony Harmon
MY 2 CENTS:
Writing/Story: ★★★★
This movie was Based on a graphic novel series by Yukito Kishiro. I haven’t read the graphic novel series so I can’t compare them to the movie. I’m just reviewing what I saw on screen and I personally think that James Cameron and Laeta Kalogridis did an awesome job with the adaption and that Robert Rodriquez was exactly the right director to bring it to life.
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Right from the start of the film, you are swept away in this mysterious, dangerous new world where nothing is as we know it today yet the societal struggles of class are all too familiar.
The only think I really had a problem with was the unnecessary romantic storyline. I didn’t really believe the relationship between Alita and the local boy who falls in love with her.
Cinematography: ★★★★★
I don’t usually call out the cinematographer by name, but this film was so much fun to watch and the imagery that Bill Pope gave us on screen was truly beautiful. The world created in this film is stunning and the effects are amazing!
The motor ball scenes which depict this world’s sporting event are insane. Basically, the players go around a race-track with a metal ball that they have to capture. Its violent and fast-paced, and so exciting. As a movie goer, I was drawn right in.
The visuals in this world are insane!!! The fight sequences are so exciting. I love a strong female character, but I do think that Alita is a character than all movie goers can enjoy.
Character(s)/Acting: ★★★★
Rosa Salazar was fantastic as Alita and the special effects associated with her character were astounding. I will definitely be checkout out more of her work.
Christoph Waltz was good as Dr. Dyson Ido. You could really feel his fatherly love for Alita as well as his internal struggle with what he was doing just to survive.
I’m a Jennifer Connelly fan but with this film, I felt that her character was really under-utilized. There just wasn’t much character development with her character. I felt like they could have done so much more with her.
Mahershala Ali was another actor that just felt stagnant in this film. There wasn’t much to his character. He was a puppet and I felt like just about anyone could have played his role.
Keean Johnson who plays Hugo, Alita’s love interest, actually surprised me. No, I didn’t believe the romance between them, but he did a great job with his internal struggle. He so desperately wanted to get up to the upper world and will do, and has done, literally anything he has to do to get there. Then, when he meets Alita his starts to struggle with some of his decisions.
MY FAVORITE QUOTES:
“This is just a body. It’s not bad or good. That part’s up to you.” ~ Dr. Dyson Ido
“You’ve been given a chance to start over with a clean slate. How many of us get that?” ~ Dr. Dyson Ido
TO SUM IT UP:
Overall, I loved this film. I’ve seen some less than flattering reviews on it, but I really enjoyed it and think it was a lot of fun. Sometimes you really just want a fun, strong, unstoppable character and that’s what you get with Alita.
Have you seen Alita: Battle Angel yet? If you have let me know, in the comments below, what you thought of it!
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View the Official Trailer Below:
Nina Soden 