Director: Robert Rodriguez
Cast: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali
Genre: Science fiction, action
Year: 2019
Coming in as one of the first big blockbusters of 2019, Alita: Battle Angel reveals itself to be an action packed, adrenaline fueled joyride.
Based off of the comic book series Battle Angel Alita, Rodriguez's newest action film to hit the screen follows the story of the eponymous hero, Alita, a cyborg, who is resurrected and cared for by kindly 'cyber-doctor' Ido. However, despite her initial wonder and excitement in discovering life for the first time, her curiosity about the dark underworld gets the better of her, and in a spontaneous street alley conflict, she is revealed, much to her surprise as to everybody else's, to be much more than a simple cyborg.
It comes as no surprise that a science fiction film, written by James Cameron, would be a great, thrilling movie. Cameron's career is almost inherently based upon his ability to create thrilling science fiction action movies; look no further than Terminator 2: Judgement Day and Aliens. So the exhilaration which the film inspires amongst its audience is more than expected and Alita certainly delivers in abundance. While to begin with, there is a significant focus on Alita discovering the world of the Iron City and the vibrant culture bubbling within it, the film truly takes off after its first action sequence. Immediately here, a deeper backstory to Alita is hinted at, something that Alita becomes instantly motivated to seek out and discover more about (being oblivious to her life before being saved by Ido).
The fighting is meticulously choreographed and executed with mesmerising intensity and fluidity. Utilising the benefits of the intricate CGI employed within this film (which, as a sidenote, is of a spectacularly stunning and strikingly refined quality), Rodriguez manages to punctuate all the action through the brutal ferocity of the fighting, straying away from the usual 'family friendly' standard of such modern action movies (while still remaining in the '12' rated category).
Despite the fact that the fighting is set between cyborgs, something not necessarily new to this genre, having the characters laden with heavy machinery and with their bodies augmented with a series of lethal artillery allows for much more variety in the character designs and the structure of the action itself. While one might sport an array of razor sharp blades, another is built around reinforced impenetrable armour.
However, knowing Cameron's screenplays, he too often prioritises the action above most other elements that are required within a film.
Of course, there is no denying that James Cameron can construct and execute magnificent, unforgettable action sequences (who can forget the iconic motorbike chase in T:2 or the final showdown between Ripley and the Queen Alien in Aliens); yet he sadly suffers in his writing when it comes to depicting emotion. His character building is sufficient in this film - it reveals enough about Alita to keep her character interesting, yet confines enough information from the audience to keep her still enigmatic. Plus her relationships and interactions with the other people of the Iron City feels natural or as natural as a human-cyborg relationships can be. Her inevitable relationship with Hugo flows quite smoothly, which is a breath of fresh air for a genre which so frequently forces a romance. Yet during the climatic events at the end of the film, much of the emotional responses portrayed here (no spoilers of course) are so rigid, unnatural, and awkward that it is difficult not to laugh. Cameron is too eager for the action scenes to take centre stage that he too often dismisses the critical, poignant, emotional scenes which, in Alita at least, feel poorly executed.
Naturally, through a much expected cliffhanger at the end, Alita's story is not quite finished in this single installment of a however long franchise. However, it serves as a great introduction into what could potentially be another exciting franchise of films. Not quite perfect but nevertheless extremely entertaining, Alita: Battle Angel is a really enjoyable, well made action film, with lovable characters and enthralling action.
Verdict: 8/10
