अलीटा: बेटल एंजेल

Yes, every film these days isn't just a film. It's the beginning of a larger body of work, a shared universe, or trying to set up an ongoing franchise. And, besides the Marvel Shared Universe and a few pre-existing properties like 'Star Wars,' most fledgling film franchises struggles beyond the first offering. That's simply because they make setting up a wider universe more of a priority than actually simply telling a good story (that 'Dark Universe' saga that tried to get off the ground with Tom Cruise at the helm, anyone?).

Now, I'm not going to say that the producers of 'Alita: Battle Angel' wouldn't love the franchise to still be going in ten years time (complete with all sorts of spin-off tales of secondary characters and probably a TV series to boot), but at least it stands on its own as a great story and - if it doesn't get a sequel - can be looked at as a whole, rather than something that started and was never concluded.

It's set well into the future where the world has been ravaged by one giant war (aka 'The Fall') and half the (unlucky) population live in a junkyard of a city on Earth, while those better off live in a floating city above it, known as 'Zolum.' The status quo remains until a Dr Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz) who specialises in creating cyborgs out of spare parts finds the remains of a young cyborg girl ('Alita,' in case you haven't guessed!) on the scrap heap and takes it upon himself to rebuild her. Of course the plot needs her to have forgotten who true identity and - naturally - this all links in with what will become her destiny to bring a little more equality between the two last cities on Earth and the mysterious ruler who 'watches all.'

So, it's kind of one of those 'prophecy/saviour' type films which certainly aren't that original, but, if done right, are very entertaining - and Alita is very entertaining. First of all Rosa Salazar is a very likable lead and, despite not having too many major roles to her credit, does brilliantly at holding the weight of the story on her shoulders. She's also got on hand Christoph Waltz, who always turns in a great performance in whatever he's in. This is no different and their relationship is the character-highpoint of the film.

Alita's love interest is 'Hugo' (Keean Johnson) and, although I couldn't really find fault with anything about his performance, I got the impression that his part could have been played by anyone. Jennifer Connelly is on the cast-list, but I felt she was a little underused and could have been in it a lot more. And, despite being a big fan, I only found out that Jackie Earle Haley was in the film after seeing his name on the credits and having to look up who he played online afterwards

It's all stylishly directed by Robert Rodriguez, despite having James Cameron as co-producer and writer, the directoral honours seemed to have gone to Rodriguez. His natural style of fast-paced shots work better for the action and amount of CGI used. I know Cameron did - practically - an entire film ('Avatar') in CGI, but in Alita (and this could just be because a more modern film can blend live action and computer effects together) better, the effects look for more polished and real when compared to 'Avatar.' The soundtrack is also pretty generic and you certainly won't be humming the theme tune for months to come after leaving the cinema.

But, that's just a minor gripe. Basically, if you're in the mood for some great action and don't mind the lengthy two-hour run-time, you should definitely check this one out. After only a couple of scenes you'll stop wondering why Alita's eyes are so (CGI) big and concentrate on her growth as a character (and, is it just me, or is she using 'Sting' i.e. the sword from 'Lord of the Rings' to save the world?).

I see that it's only got a big of a lukewarm reception from some critics, but, if you see what the fans are saying about it, I think you'll know who to believe. Bring on the next installment.

As a longtime fan of Gunnm(Battle Angel Alita), I am satisfied. I appreciate the production team took their time to do the research of the original serials. The adaptation is great, they filtered out few "acquire taste" and swapped in elements that would make much more appeal to general public. The film really kept true to the original manga and reassembled almost everything from the manga the scenes, mechanical bodies, characters and the world they lived in. They did a great job on capturing Alita's slightly naïve stubbornness, the "all in or all out" euthanasic, and the pursuit of who she is. Storywise, the film ingeniously weaved the first 11 books of manga together, brought up few events that was happening in the 2nd chapter of Alita's adventure to the 1st movie. Which is nice since I bet they're already thinking of the next Alita movie. But as few of Cameron's work, the dark side and the ugliness of irontown wasn't rendered enough. The lack of depth on the ugliness made the whole plot a bit light, the emotional conflict wasn't intense enough and the romance plotline which is very important in the 1st chapter a little bit lack of depth. The overall CG is stunning. Other than the wanted flyer and the parasite's face the rest of CG is absolute marvelous. All in all, definite a great Gunnm movie, will definite watch it again and again till the sequel is out!!!

I loved this movie! Alita: Battle Angel is my type of movie. I love the science fiction and the great action throughout the entire movie. It also has a very substantive story as a solid foundation. The setting is very grim but Alita's character is uplifting and gives viewers hope. I liked how Alita's story also involves a quest of finding out who she truly is. She finds herself in a world where she can be seen as somewhat ordinary. But she comes to find out that she's far from ordinary. She's an angel from heaven. I really enjoyed this movie and the story itself can be explained further in other films. I hope there's a sequel as the ending laid the framework for more films. This movie is emotional, action filled, and has intense action sequences. The creators of this film did a nice job of spacing out the action. They didn't rush into it and every battle scene was meaningful. I would definitely recommend this movie.

I really love this movie. The storyline is really great. Exciting from start to finish. The graphics are really cool. Its like I didn't wanna blink at all. The plot is not mind-numbing as critics say. Well it seems like I have to stop listening to them. Because this film is worth watching by everyone. Thank you for all people behind this movie. I'm sure this movie wasn't easy to make. Now I really hope I don't have to wait too long for the sequel...

In general, I really like this movie. I even consider it as one of the few movies that actually touched my heart.

Many think the plot is bad, which I don't think is very accurate. I am currently reading the manga. The story is GREAT! Only they didn't take full advantage of this great story to build the characters, except Alita herself. The ultimate goal of story telling is building characters. And this movie brilliantly shaped Alita, and Alita only. Other supporting characters seem to have fewer background stories, which makes them less vivid. Like Grewishka (aka Makaku in the original manga), Hugo and his brother, they all have very intriguing life stories, but the movie did not tell us. Also, there are many other fascinating characters in the manga did not even appear in the movie, such as Jasugun the motorball champion, Alita's motorball team manager Ed and many others.

Also, the plot is jumping around a lot. If you read the manga, you'll notice the exact same style. But I still think they could've done better in the transition between scenes. After all this is a movie, not comics.

Besides this, I think "Alita: Battle Angel" is perfect. The CGI face is absolutely the peak of our tech. And the emotion brought by this tiny body was so exploding and touching. I, as a man, was moved by this empowered female character. She showed us how to find our true selves and how to stay pristine in the ugly world.

And to James, Robert, Rosa and everyone who were a part of this project, GREAT JOB GUYS!! PLEASE MAKE A SEQUEL ASAP!!