Alita: Battle Angel

James Cameron has spent more than a decade trying to bring Alita: Battle Angel to the big screen. Based on a popular cyberpunk manga series by Yukito Kishiro, published between 1990-1995, he has spent that time refining the script and developing the world that Alita inhabits. And that’s pretty much what he now spends most of his time taking care of with the Avatar movies and the world of Pandora. Hence the reason why he eventually decided to step back into producer duties for this movie, letting Robert Rodriguez pick up the directing reins in order to finally get it finished. Rodriguez uses ...

I quite enjoyed this movie. Of course it was a good start that it was directed by Robert Rodriguez. It is perhaps a bit of a young adult movie but that did not stop this old fart from enjoying it.

I guess most people know the basic premise of the movie. It is based on a Japanese cyberpunk manga. Alita, a cyborg, is found by Dr. Ido. She is reawakened, given a new body (two actually), she is much more than she seems and … she kicks ass.

The movie plays out in a somewhat post apocalyptic world although it is not as dark and depressing as many post apocalyptic scenarios. It is actually q...

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I’m writing this review one day after the Oscars night, and I can guarantee at least one thing: Alita: Battle Angel is getting a Best Visual Effects nomination and it’s probably going to win. Calling it now. There are no words that can describe how immersive, realistic and groundbreaking the IMAX 3D experience is. Weta Digital is undoubtedly the most incredible VFX/CGI company since the beginning of this millennium. From the Lord of the Rings trilogy to the Avatar movie(s) and through the most famous TV series of thi...

I did enjoy _Alita_. It was a great big "pkyew-pkyew" sort of a mess, but I did still walk away having had a pretty good time.

Unfortunately, both Alita(the character)'s romantic interest and _Alita_(the movie)'s romantic plotline I despised. And this aspect took up **so much** on screen realestate that I could never see my way to giving _Alita_ a glowing score, even if everything else about it had been perfect (it wasn't).

An interesting part of the flim though that I also need to touch on is the special effects. They aren't even close to photorealism, but it honestly still totally work...

Definitely a Robert Rodriguez movie, but a Robert Rodriguez movie made with that James Cameron money.

The world building was incredible. Rosa Salazar, Christophe Waltz, and the rest of the cast do a great job. The technical wizardry, not just with the visual effects but the use of 3-D and IMAX was nothing short of dazzling. The action is exhilarating. I'll also take Motorball over podracing or Quidditch any day.

Yes there are problems with the script because James Cameron has never been a strong writer. There is also way too much sequel baiting for my taste. But for a movie like this to ...