My Review of 'Alita: Battle Angel'

Alita: Battle Angel is a gorgeous movie that is based on a Japanese anime in the 1990s. Just 10 years ago it was a foreign concept to have cartoons remade to look realistic. Nowadays, the technology has caught up and movie studios are going crazy with visual effects. What was unfathomable not too long ago is entirely possible today and it is mesmerizing.

The movie is of course about a "Battle Angel" named Alita. Alita is a cyborg that is salvaged by Dr. Ido who found her parts in a junkyard. The junkyard is constantly being filled with garbage from the sky city called Zalem. This sky city is sort of like a haven that everyone in their city called Iron City wants to move to but it's really exclusive. The world is set in a post-apocalyptic setting since it's set after a great war.

Anyways, Alita is this newly rebuilt cyborg and doesn't have any of her memories from the past. She meets a boy of interest named Hugo and learns about this game called Motorball and how you can become a bounty hunter called a Hunter-Warrior. She quickly discovers that she's got innate fighting abilities and that she's got a more complicated past than she thought. Flashes of her memory come to her every so often and slowly reveal to the audience what she really is and what she was programmed to do.

I have to say the fight sequences of this movie were some of the most amazing fight scenes in a movie I've ever seen on screen. I watched this movie in 3D AVX so it was a sight to see and the sound was amazing. Every time there was a fight scene coming up I would tense up because I knew it was going to be a sight to be seen. When the actual fight sequences were playing I was at the edge of my seat. They are brutal and ultra violent and they get away with it because all of the things that she kills are cyborgs and robots but because they have human faces you still have some empathy for these machines. At some points, I even felt bad for the bad guys. How many of your friends have to die before you get the message that you don't mess around with this girl?

The bad part of the movie would have to be the generic, predictable and very cheesy story. I get it, this is based on a Japanese anime from the 90s, but you don't have to make everything scene for scene perfect. I watched the original and it looks to be pretty darn accurate to the Japanese anime. Obviously, there are some differences, but it is pretty darn close. So I understand why it's cheesy and predictable. They're being faithful to the original content. I don't know why there's a rule that you have to be 100 percent accurate to the original if you're making a remake though. Making movies is an art and people should have to feel stifled to the confines of already established content. Okay, maybe I'm going a little far. There's a business aspect, fan-based aspect and original creator aspect. I was just hoping that the creator would allow some liberties in creating a new vision for the story. It's tolerable but can make you cringe at some points.

Overall I thought Alita: Battle Angel will be loved by certain groups. Kids and teens will absolutely love this movie. I think fans of the original Japanese anime will love this as well. As casual adult moviegoers, I think those that are looking for an action-oriented popcorn movie will have found their perfect movie. I enjoyed it as a casual moviegoer and that's what my mentality was when I went in to watch it. Looking deeper into the movie, I wouldn't give this movie that high of a grade because the cheese of this movie can be a lot. Multiple viewings are questionable. I think this was great as a first viewing but I don't really see myself watching this one over and over again. I'll give this movie a 6.5 out of 10.

I really think if you want to see this movie you have to see it in the theater in 3D and AVX. They spent a ton of money making this movie and it shows. The visuals are top notch, the sound is over the top and the fight choreography is so amazing I think it's worth checking out.