Alita: Battle Angel (2019) Film Review: The Best Hollywood Anime Adaptation To Date!

As much as 2019 appeared to be the flawless year for Disney as many of their films broke billions of dollars, the year wasn't kind to many other films or studios for that matter. While some are moderate hits and few manage to actually be huge successes in their own right, many underperformed or straight-out flopped in the box office. One of these box office disappointments had a long history in developmental hell. The film based on the beloved manga and anime was always meant to be directed by legendary filmmaker, James Cameron, but as he believed that technology wasn't ready for the film along with his obsession with Avatar sequels, he eventually gave up the directors chair and remained as a producer and co-writer. Although the film did manage to break even in the box office and had a decent home media release, the domestic box office results proved disappointing to Fox/Disney that a sequel is still up to debate whether or not it will get made and continue the story. Speaking of said story, we should actually get into that right now. The year is 2563, 300 years after the war known as "The Fall" ravaged the Earth, leaving Zalem the only sky city on the planet, with the masses living in the giant city underneath known as Iron City. A scientist and bounty hunter, Dr. Ido, finds a cyborg head and core while in the scrapyard, which he manages to assemble the being back from the dead. The cyborg, Alita, wakes up with no memory of her past life as she explores the city and bonds with Ido and a boy named Hugo, while also making enemies as well as rediscovering her hidden past. The story essentially borrows elements from both the manga and anime, which while making it very faithful to the source material, proves a bit messy for the movie. Although the film does manage to juggle plenty of storylines and characters well for the most part, you can also tell that they are clearly stories and characters that are left unresolved or explored as the filmmakers hope to cover them in the sequel. These include the city of Zalem, Alita's past, the Motorball championship, and the story behind "The Fall". While these story elements do leave intrigue for the viewer, the fact that a sequel might not even be made can make people turn off from the experience. The tone however is very much like Cameron's work on "Avatar". While there are plenty of scenes with the literally wide-eyed Alita enjoying the company around her and discovering things about herself and the world, the film can suddenly offer intense sequences of action, death and drama. It's a perfect in-between for audiences of many ages, much like how accessible "Avatar" was to audiences back in its release.

Rosa Salazar as Alita offers a great show-off for the rising actress. Keep in mind that her performance is based on motion-capture and Salazar manages to give the character so much subtle emotions and personality. You can buy Alita as both a curious, caring girl who wants to fit in, and the ruthless,  charismatic warrior that emerges from her past. Outside of some awkward dialogue at times, Alita shines as one of the best, modern female protagonists in film. However, she doesn't outshine Christoph Waltz's Ido, who is simply fantastic. Waltz is a wonderful actor and he brings so much charm and drama to the character that he would make for a great protagonist in a separate film, which is helped by the character's backstory and his battle of finding peace after becoming a bounty-hunter to kill criminals much like the individual that killed her daughter in the past. Keean Johnson plays Hugo, Alita's love interest who, although cares for the cyborg, hides his shady practices of scrapping parts from living cyborgs in an attempt to raise funds to live in Zalem. While Johnson did a fine job, Hugo's portrayal is the weakest in the film as it changed the character to be not as intriguing as the source material. There's also a variety of villains with their distinct, albeit shallow, personalities, such as Dr. Chiren, the wife of Ido and a scientist working for Motorball in order to get back home to Zalem played by Jennifer Connelly, Vector, the smooth, deal-making overseer of Motorball played by Mahershala Ali, Zapan, an arrogant, bounty-hunter who welds a deadly blade played by Ed Skrein, and Grewishka, a giant cyborg who works as the personal assassin to Nova, the tyrannical ruler of Zalam. While all of these performances are great and they do work out well for the film, these villains aren't really relatable, with exception to Chiren, and they won't be that memorable outside of their looks, designs and the actors portraying them. With that said, the cast are all very talented with the best being Salazar and Waltz's performances as Alita and Ido.

Robert Rodriguez is widely known for his stylish, low-budget films such as "Spy Kids", "Sin City", and the "Mexico Trilogy". So, it seems like a weird choice to have a director known for making some of the most cheapest box office hits being in charge of a film with a James Cameron-sized budget. However, it's honestly a brilliant match and the main reasons why are the world-building and effects. Iron City is a very unique setting with a mixed culture-pool, a giant landscape filled with skyscrapers that look like they were made from scrap, as well as a Spanish aesthetic to the architecture. The production and set design is very good with the use of technology in the city, which is helped by Bill Pope's really good cinematography, thanks to his experience with CGI-heavy films. There's both colour, dirtiness, and darkness in the world, which allows Rodriguez and Pope to have some stylish shots. This is mainly where Rodriguez's directing shines as he brings a sense of reality to the environment as the tech doesn't feel extremely futuristic, despite the year being in the 26th century. I also give massive credit to Rodriguez for never showing off the city of Zalem, outside of its appearance, as it does give questions to what this utopia must be like for a citizen of Iron City. However, it is the visual effects that take the crown for making the film stand out. While Alita's giant, anime-esque eyes can make some people not engaged, the character is a visual marvel as every aspect of her design is made from a computer, including her hair and clothing, which is extremely impressive. After a few minutes, Alita perfectly blends right into the world. It helps that her amazing design makes the film and her character stand out visually. The effects also help give Iron City more depth and offer some very creative designs for the cyborgs such as Zapan, Grewishka, and a female assassin named Nyssiana. Not every effect is convincing per se, but there's enough detail and creative imagery to make you believe the characters that are onscreen. The score by Junkie XL is also really good, being one of his more memorable score. While he does offer his signature rock aesthetic, he also has some good instrumentals for the softer moments and some nice action/epic music in the action sequences. Speaking of the action, it's really well choreographed and looks both brutal and stunning at the same time, which is rare for a film using CGI. A lot of CGI action scenes, although cool and engaging, can feel pretty weightless at times, where hits feel underwhelming to view. Although all of the action is mainly with CGI, it never comes across as weightless and it comes across as a gritty beatdown at times. The action can get so violent at times that it pushes the PG-13 rating to the max. Overall, Rodriguez helped pull off not only a fantastic job directing, but making it almost rival Cameron's own skill.

"Alita: Battle Angel" is a film that deserved a much better job at the box office and the sequel that it deserves to continue the story. It's not flawless with a somewhat overstuffed story that teases some sequel-bait, Hugo's character not being as interesting as the source material, and the villains are somewhat generic with not a lot of intriguing motivations behind their diverse personalities. Outside of these issues, the film fits amongst the quality of Cameron's work despite it not completely being his film. From an engaging story that fans of the source material will love, a tone that's both intensely mature and tame for general audiences, the very talented cast bringing their respective characters to life with Alita and Ido being the highlights, a wonderfully-detailed world that breathes with life and style with some great cinematography and effects, CGI that gives so much detail and distinct looks to the lead character as well as the inhabitants of the already-detailed city, a memorable score by Junkie XL, and action sequences that captures both the brutality and visual flair that both Cameron and Rodriguez are known for. It's a shame that such a long legacy of development hell resulted in a financially disappointing film. However, it's hopeful that the film will find new life, much like Alita herself.

Verdict: 8/10. A great movie that's only hampered by a few issues with the characters and bloated narrative. Please support this film by buying a Blu-Ray copy and giving it a watch!