“Alita: Battle Angel” falls under a certain category of long term passion projects that I could only classify as “films almost certainly doomed to fail”. Not to say that all films stuck in development hell are guaranteed to sink upon release, but if there’s anything we’ve learned from films like the previously-covered “Venom” film, it’s that some things must be released or simply be put out of development, lest the need for that film to be released be completely outdated. “Alita’s” release looked especially grim in this sort of case, since producer and writer James Cameron first became enamored with the original manga and anime “Battle Angel Alita/Gunm” and announced development of a film adaptation back in 2000. Still, if there’s anything I wanted to convey though the films I’ve covered for “Ani-March”, it’s that things are often not as bleak as they are painted. For instance, I distinctly remember laughing along with my friends seeing the trailers for the film and witnessing the wide-eyed, heavily digitized design of its titular cyborg heroine, and as of yesterday, I know I’ll never forget what an original, ambitious, emotionally charged and fun movie “Alita: Battle Angel” truly is. While the cracks in the metaphorical paint of a typical Hollywood anime adaptation are still very much present in places, the proverbial chassis put together by its passionate writer James Cameron and equally tight and talented director Robert Rodriguez is as beautiful as it is ambitious. What’s especially amazing is how “Alita” does the previously unimaginable by being a faithful anime adaptation that makes appropriate changes between mediums while still retaining the source’s essential spirit. Before anything else, I must say that this movie is a theatrical experience worth experiencing while it’s in theaters.
In a bustling,dangerous future city populated by both full-bodied humans and augmented cyborgs, cyber-surgeon Dr. Dyson Ido (Cristoph Waltz) finds an abandoned cyborg’s body in a scrapyard, reduced to the head and chest, and takes it to his home in the city to repair it. Upon awakening, the young female cyborg (Rosa Salazar) finds that she has lost all memory (save for instinctual fighting prowess) of who she was before being repaired, so Dr. Ido gives her both a new surrounding body and a new name: Alita, named after the daughter he had previously built the chassis for. Surprisingly, her first foray into “Iron City” goes fairly well: she experiences the joys of food for the first time, gains a talent for the high-speed sport called “Motorball”, and even finds a love interest in a young man named Hugo (Keenan Johnson), who gives her the “grand tour” of the cybernetic metropolis. Things take a turn for the truly dangerous, however, when Alita finds out that her savior and guardian is secretly a “Hunter-Warrior”, one of several bounty hunters who fights dangerous robotic criminals for a reward, and that he is doing so in an attempt to uncover a mysterious conspiracy from the city above their home, dubbed “Zallom”. After this discovery, during which Alita successfully fights off the assassins defending Dr. Ido, Alita becomes determined to hunt down criminals, make it to the airborne utopia, and discover exactly what memories lie beneath the powers she has only just begun to uncover.
Admittedly, both this film and the Japanese manga/anime franchise it takes cues from offers familiar material in terms of narrative: a young woman is brought into a loving, but protective family, is driven to find her own way, and discovers inner strength in a dangerous world. Still, whatever Alita may lack in story-based originality, it more than compensates in passion and sheer, unadulterated style. For instance, the world of Iron City was beautifully realized by James Cameron’s effects team, and the effects used to render the massive junkyard city are aided by on-point shot compositions and excellent use of cues from anime-style cinematography. What I found especially commendable about the film’s visual elements were the designs of the cyborg characters. From a hunter commanding cyborg dogs to a robotic man with a giant sword and mohawk, there are no two character designs inherently the same, and the sheer variety and creativity at play in their designs and details is simply astounding. On the topic of that aforementioned cinematography, the fight scenes are some of the most daring, well-choreographed, and adrenaline-pumping in any modern action film. The effects take great advantage of the fact that the characters trading blows are cyborgs, and in spite of the obvious difficulties that must have come with translating the acrobatics-heavy fights from the original “Alita”, the filmmakers did wonders putting the individuals impacts and stunts to the big screen.
Helping matters is the fact that every fight has emotional and narrative weight, since “Alita: Battle Angel”, in spite of being a huge film in terms of spectacle, is a strangely intimate story about one young woman’s coming of age. Beneath the meat and bones of a hard-hitting cyberpunk action film beats the heart of a story concerning identity, love, and holding onto inner strength in the face of circumstance. Though balancing that character arc and the action, lore and world building of the manga does make for too fast a narrative pace at times, the somewhat rushed nature of the exposition and dialogue is more than accounted for by the performances, especially that of Alita and her loved ones. Rosa Salazar is a fairly underrated actress, but Alita’s charm and magnetism as a protagonist is all thanks to her balance of innocence, tenderness and determination, and she manages a natural and adorable performance in spite of the brisk pace, and thanks in no small part to the admirable effects work surrounding her design. That design, though off-putting at first, works completely in tandem with Salazar’s performance through its expressiveness and expert integration with the live-action actors. Continuing with those actors, Christoph Waltz makes for a heartwarming supporting character in Dr. Ido, and effortlessly channels parental warmth and stern protectiveness that we briefly saw on display in “Django Unchained”. He’s a very natural and nuanced actor, and even Ido’s more heavy-handed scenes are strengthened by Waltz’s earnest and heartwarming portrayal. A quick nod must also be given to supporting characters like that of Jennifer Connelly, who show true dimension in spite of their characters reflecting the harsh, cynical world in which Alita lives. That world has a lot to it, and that does make the film’s pacing problems much too apparent at times (especially during the romantic exchanges between Alita and Hugo), but that this kind of anime-influenced world and creative style even made it to a mainstream Hollywood film in the first place is nothing short of astounding. One could even call the existence of “Alita: Battle Angel” inspiring in a few ways, since James Cameron finally got to see his take on the story unfold, and since the result is as thoroughly entertaining and heartfelt as it is.
My hope is that mine and other reviews vindicate this film’s need for a sequel, or even simply other film adaptations of this nature, because I feel safe in saying that “Alita: Battle Angel” for all its stumbles and cliches, is in a class by itself and wears its heart on its sleeves. With that enthusiastic recommendation, I’ll close Ani-March by saying that the best films are the ones that may surprise you.
Rich Reviews 