TV Obsessive
Alita: Battle Angel
Lor: This week I’ve been recovering from being sick and partly used it as an excuse to catch up on movies. I never expected to completely fall in love with one of them. It’s unfortunate that it’s almost been forgotten even though it only released in 2019. I’m talking about Alita: Battle Angel.
Based on a manga (and from what I gather is pretty faithful to it’s story) Alita is an amnesiac cyborg in a post-apocalyptic cyberpunk city discovering who she is and learning about the world around her. We see Iron City through her eyes and it’s honestly a super interesting and dense world. Details are given but never over-explained; Dr. Ido (Christoph Waltz), Alita’s surrogate father, gives us enough to understand there was a war long ago but people have basically moved on. There’s a giant floating city called Zalam always in the background that many hope to ascend to someday but most seem to consider it a relic of the past. People go nuts over a futuristic roller derby called Motorball. Many have cybernetic implants.
One of the complaints about the film before it was released was the size of Alita’s eyes. They’re clearly going for an anime look, and while it is weird at first, I never found myself distracted by it. In fact it’s one of the more tame elements, considering there’s also a guy who looks like the Juggernaut and another with a metal soul patch. It’s a bit sad that such a small detail put people off on Alita all together. The visual effects throughout the film are fantastic and colourful. Iron City is a melting pot of different cultures and languages, with many signs written in both English and Spanish. I appreciate these visions of the future far more than the sterile white plastic that seems to be the popular portrayal. (For another great sci-fi featuring many different cultures, try Space Sweepers as well!)
While some of the plot gets a little ridiculous (seemingly smart characters making dumb decisions is nothing new), I was so captivated that it didn’t bother me. Don’t be fooled into thinking this is a complete kid’s fair either—people die in some honestly gruesome ways and it gets dark. Director Robert Rodriguez has mentioned he’d be interested in making a sequel, which I sincerely hope to see someday. We might have a while to wait unfortunately, considering Alita was stuck in development for years. Crossing my fingers!
Those are our recommendations this week! What are yours? Let us know in the comments!
