Alita: Battle Angel
Visually spectacular, and incredibly inventive in terms of its universe building, this has been a labour of love for James Cameron for the last 15 years. Unfortunately, the end result is somewhat unsatisfying in isolation, as it’s clearly just the first introductory chapter in a far larger story (that may or may not ever materialise).
Premise: In the 26th Century, cybernetics expert Dr Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz) finds the remnants of a female cyborg with an intact brain in the giant scrapyard at the centre of Iron City. Ido repairs the cyborg and names her Alita (Rosa Salazar), as she has no memory of who she is or how she ended up in the junkyard. But it soon becomes apparent that no one in Iron City is exactly who they first appear to be, including Alita herself.
Review:
This film can be reviewed in one of two ways: if it becomes the first instalment in an ongoing series, it could develop into one of the most interesting and engaging sci-fi epics of recent years. But if you just judge this film in isolation, and ask whether it delivers a satisfying and entertaining story in its own right … the answer is, not really.
The problem is that Alita: Battle Angel spends a lot of its runtime fleshing out the 26th Century world in which the characters live – from the rundown cyberpunk slums of Iron City, to the floating metropolis above it of Zalem – from the war between Earth and the United Republics of Mars (which ended 300 years before the events of this film), to the insane sport of Motorball – and from the threat of cyborg serial killers to the sub-culture of Hunter-Warriors, violent bounty hunters who are left to bring justice to Iron City in the absence of any police force. It’s all fascinating stuff, beautifully realised from the original manga series via the imaginations of James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez, but it does mean that there’s perhaps not a great deal of time left for a satisfying, self-contained plot as well.
“…feels like it’s still only scratched the surface of the main plot by the end…”
The events of this film basically just cover the first two books from the original 9-volume manga series (with a few elements drawn in from books 3 and 4), so at best, this is really just the first third of the whole story (if that). And unlike some “first chapters” in a trilogy (like The Matrix, Star Wars or even Avatar), Alita: Battle Angel doesn’t really make much of an attempt to tell a satisfying self-contained story that could stand on its own if no further films are made – instead, it’s much more like The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings, or The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, in that it’s all about setting up the pieces for future stories. Of course, the big difference is that Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit were guaranteed their sequels, so could afford to tell one long story across the three films, but Alita: Battle Angel doesn’t have that luxury.
There are plenty of big name cameos that also hint at larger stories not told in this film, that could be expanded upon in future sequels: for example, Michelle Rodriguez cameos briefly as a figure in flashbacks from Alita’s past, Edward Norton is shown as the enigmatic power behind Zalem, and Jai Courtney appears for 30 seconds (if that) in a non-speaking role as the reigning Motorball champion. And while all of this adds texture to the universe building of the film, it just reminds viewers how this film has still only scratched the surface of the main plot by the end of its 2-hour run time.
“…the VFX, and the performance capture technology in particular, is breath-taking…”
Perhaps James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez faced an impossible task in trying to adapt this (relatively unknown) manga series for the big screen – after all, perhaps there would have been just as many issues if they had tried to squeeze all 9-volumes into one film? We know that James Cameron has been working on the script for this film since 2003, before eventually handing the project over to Robert Rodriguez in 2016 (when it became clear that Cameron would never have the time to direct Alita due to his commitments to the Avatar sequels). Interestingly, in interviews Rodriguez explains that he still considers this Cameron’s project in many ways, and he retained Cameron’s script (editing it for pacing and length, rather than re-writing it). As a result, you can still see Cameron’s influence on the tone and structure of the story, as Rodriguez effectively put his ego to one side and faithfully attempted to bring Cameron’s vision to life, rather than transform it to fit his own style. In fact, it may be that the opportunity to make “a James Cameron film” as a change from making “a Robert Rodriguez film” was one of the main things that attracted him to the project.
In terms of positives, there is much to enjoy in Alita. The focus on world building and character development really pays off, and Rosa Salazar in particular makes a real impression as Alita, even behind the performance capture technology. Speaking of which, the VFX generally, and the performance capture technology in particular, is breath-taking and some of the best you’re likely to see. The action sequences are also really well staged – but be warned, although they are largely “bloodless”, the film can be quite brutal for a 12A.
“…the amazing cast don’t really get a great deal to do…”
On the negative side, however, it’s probably fair to say that outside of Rosa Salazar and Christoph Waltz, the amazing cast don’t really get a great deal to do. Oscar winner Mahershala Ali essentially just plays a one-note henchman, while Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly is so emotionally buttoned down, she doesn’t have much to get her teeth into either. Ed Skrein and Jackie Earle Haley at least appear to be having a lot of fun chewing the scenery as two VFX heavy cyborgs, and make far more of a lasting impression than either Ali or Connelly do, which is a shame.
But the biggest weakness for me was the love story between Alita and Hugo, played by Keean Johnson. Personally, I found it unconvincing and unengaging, perhaps at least in part because I found Johnson to be totally wooden and clichéd throughout. Maybe it was the way it was written (I’m really not a fan of the love story in the James Cameron written Titanic either), but I can’t help but think that maybe a better actor could have made the love story feel more believable (Johnson is no Leonardo DiCaprio, I’m afraid).
“…if we get more instalments, this may end up as the perfect launching point…”
Ultimately, I was left with the feeling that the film was just getting started when the end credits rolled. Yes, a lot happens along the way, but most of your questions are still unanswered, and with all the time spent on the love story and the Motorball sub-plot, I felt that by the end of the film, nothing much had happened to move the main storyline forward, or to answer the audience’s biggest questions. So if we get more instalments in the saga, Alita: Battle Angel may end up as the perfect launching point for the series … but if this film ends up being a standalone movie, it will remain an ultimately frustrating and unsatisfying viewing experience.
