A NEW ERA FOR MOVIES – ALITA BATTLE ANGEL REVIEW

Hey guys! How’s it going? While I was in Los Angeles last week, I went to see ‘Alita: Battle Angel’! I usually like to watch the trailer of a movie and know a few things about the film before actually heading to see it, but it wasn’t the case for this one. I had heard some good reviews and pretty much went not knowing what to expect! I just knew that it was produced by James Cameron (!!!) and that my mom (who had seen it a week prior) told me it was too violent for her haha.
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P. S. There are no spoilers ahead.
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Well, firstly, I thought the film in itself was very original and insanely beautiful to look at. I also heard that it was a very good adaptation of the original mangas which is essential (especially to people who have been reading them for decades).

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However, there were a few things that were a bit off in the movie. I will get into both the right parts and the bad parts shortly, but first let me tell you a bit about the plot itself: Alita (played by the insanely talented Rosa Salazar) was abandoned and found in Iron City by a doctor named Ido. He took her in and helped her, but when she wakes up, she doesn’t remember anything from her past life. I do than guide her through Iron City for her new life, and he tries to shield her from any memory of her past one. The film was directed by Robert Rodriguez, and like I previously said James Cameron (which you could definitely feel overall by the style of the movie)! The movie was also set in the future which was super cool.
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Now, I’ll start with the bad parts of the movie (for me at least). A few small things that didn’t work for me are: I did not get why they wanted to go up to ‘Cydonia’ (I’m not completely sure the name of the place), since the Iron City (where they live) wasn’t portrayed at all! They even showed bits in forests and other pretty places, so I just didn’t get the urge to see either place as they weren’t really shown. Apart from that, the romance didn’t really work for me. I only really attached to Alita’s character although I liked her bond with Dr. Dyson (Christoph Waltz).
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On the more positive side: the cast of ‘Alita: Battle Angel’ was amazing! There are so many crazy talented award nominees and winners in this movie (i. e. Mahershala Ali, Jennifer Connelly…), but I feel like they the movie could have used these amazing actors in a better way. One thing that was super cool and unexpected on the acting front was that Lana Condor (from ‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’), was in the movie which I totally didn’t see coming! Her acting was terrific though! Anyways, I will shortly get to the outstanding parts, but since the movie was based on mangas, there is a huge background story. All sagas are super long, but I personally think they compressed too much of the story into only one film. This lead the movie to open a lot of paths and storylines and leave us with a ton of holes in the plot and questions! I’m also a bit disappointed we didn’t get to see ‘Cydonia’ again I don’t remember the exact name but the higher city. No spoilers, but we do get really close to see what’s up there but not really haha. All that leaves me with one of the major problems I’ve had with this film, it’s SCREAMING, literally, that it wants a sequel since they left so much behind. I feel like if they only released that movie in mind for just that one and no sequel, it would’ve been a lot better. But let’s be honest, we all want one!
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Now onto the best parts! This movie reminds me of a bit of Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody”; the movie wouldn’t work the same without its lead. Well, this is undoubtedly the case for this film! Rosa Salazar was genuinely exceptional. I truly believed every second, and she beautifully portrayed self-discovery. I also find the character Alita very likable in general. She’s a fascinating character and especially to look at with her huge wide eyes!
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I mentioned it once, but I’ll repeat it; the CGI is out of this world in this film! I couldn’t believe that I was seeing a CGI character interacting/fighting with real people and it all looked so real! Not only the CGI, but just the whole decor was really on point as well, as with all of the very cool robot body members! Even though I saw this movie in 2D, I would totally recommend seeing it in 3D. I’ve heard so many positive feedback about it in 3D, and I don’t usually think about watching movies in 3D, to be honest, but this movie is packed with so many great scenes that would be mind-blowing to see in 3D!
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The movie also made for a change in Hollywood! It makes me very glad to see more and more powerful badass lead female characters on screen (like Alita). I say this in a lot of reviews, but even though there’s more inclusivity of main female roles (and of everyone) than ever in the entertainment industry, there’s still a long, long way to go.
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To conclude there were some obvious problems with the movie, but it was overall such a fun time to go watch it! I love the dark story that is included yet it’s never too violent and still stays a family movie (unlike what my mom said). It’s definitely action-packed and one of the best action movies I’ve seen in a long, long time! Again, the visuals are one of the best parts of the film. I still can’t believe what humans can do with all this CGI! It’s insane! The movie was overall much better than I expected and I give it an 8/10.

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Have you seen ‘Alita: Battle Angel’? If you have, how would you rate it out of 10?
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Lot’s of LOVE, as always,