Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Movie review: Alita: Battle Angel

 
 Dr. Ido comes upon an abandoned cyborg shell which he revives and names Alita. With no memory of her past, Alita sets out to learn who she is with help from new friend, Hugo. But when those in power come after her Alita learns she has unique fighting abilities they still stop at nothing to control.

Rosa Salazar (Alita), Christoph Waltz (Dr. Ido), Jennifer Connelly (Chiren), Mahershala Ali (Vector), Ed Skrein (Zapan), Jackie Haley (Grewishka), Keean Johnson (Hugo), Jorge Lendeborg Jr. (Tanji), Lana Condor (Koyomi), Jeff Fahey (McTeague).

Alita: Battle Angel begins with a very brief bit of history and setup before we join Dr. Ido in the junkyard as he discovers the deactivated and abandoned cyborg shell which is Alita. Once re-activated, it quickly becomes apparent Ido knows more about Alita than he is saying, prompting Alita to search for answers on her own. But when those in power learn of Alita and her abilities, they set out to control her at any cost.

Acting was good with Salazar delivering well. Waltz was well cast and enjoyable and while Connelly did well, their chemistry felt wrong. Ali was good as always, and Skrein was appropriately antagonistic. Johnson was okay but felt like a clone from other films. The inclusion of Fahey was a nice nod to The Lawnmower Man.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds are all nicely done, enjoyable, and heavily integrated with CGI and effects. Likewise, the actors got a good dose of visual effects. Action was okay but as with many heavy CGI films, moved so fast it was hard to follow and detail was lacking. Dialogue was okay, as were sound and soundtrack.

While Alita: Battle Angel may be a CGI and effects visual paradise, the story itself was poorly told with numerous missing data points and a heavy, almost unrealistic, reliance on assumption by the audience. CGI fans should enjoy this one. Fans of the book or story continuity however may be disappointed.

With some very mild sexuality, plenty of violence and gore, mild foul language, and potentially disturbing images, this should be fine for teens and above.

Released: 2019
Reviewed: 8.19.19
Star rating: 3 out of 5
Genre: Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure

copyright ©2019 Dave Riedel

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