Hi everyone!
We’re closing out the week with a love fest review from Shane Hyde, who has been waiting for this movie to come out since about a second after he finished reading the manga.
Fun fact: In the comic, Alita was the name of Daisuke Ido’s cat.
Oh sure, and I guess they named the dog Indiana as well!
Anyway, be sure to check out Shane Hyde’s other reviews for “Fyre” (Episode #398), “Ánimas” (Episode #405), “Polar” (Episode #412), and “They Shall Not Grow Old” (Episode #426). And if you have any suggestions, reach out to us over social media.
Take it away, Shane!
/////
I'm going to preface this with; I am an absolute fan of the Gunman series. I've purchased the comics since the very early nineties when they were initially released. I've read them front to back and going into this movie I had all sorts of preconceptions that I felt were going to get utterly destroyed. And they weren't. My god. It lived up to my high expectations.
But I'm here to review the movie. Not its faithfulness, or its source material. Let me take a crack at “Alita: Battle Angel”.
And so... Kia Ora, I'm Shane Hyde and I'm recovering from my nerdgasm.
By now you know that this is a James Cameron produced movie helmed by Robert Rodriguez, which is some sort of match made in heaven. We know their pedigrees... love them or hate them, we know them both and we know them well. Throw in some serious talent in Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connolly, Mahershala Ali, and even Rosa Salazar. It really impresses!
“Alita: Battle Angel” is also a feast for the eyes. It’s been a convincing world that’s been created in Iron City, where others worlds might feel a little underpopulated, Iron City never does. And the designs of the cyborgs and the other denizens of the place never actually fail to impress. And that goes doubly so for Alita. You could never had made this film pre-Gollum. To capture performance and make it just this real on a CGI character is simply astounding. And the detail is amazing; they get extremely close up into Alita, and you can see pores, eyes, the interaction of hair to movement and wind. This film is a technological masterpiece.
Big eyes, small mouth - basically betrays Alita’s origins in manga, but here it is used to good effect. Somewhat alien, but kinda human... in a sense. It's all through Alita that we're able to explore what this means; humanity, and to love as a human, even though the body is hard. And that's the crux of this film, and also the source material. There's a little transhumanism thrown in, constantly striving for upgrades, to move beyond the flesh, to be the next best thing to give you the edge, but at its heart, “Alita: Battle Angel” is a story about what it means to love.
Saying “Alita: Battle Angel” is without battles is like saying “Highlander” has no sword fights. And there are battles a-plenty. Beautifully realised, slick and with Rodriguez’ eye for action that doesn't leave you wondering "what just happened?" like you were watching a Michael Bay “Transformers” film. Definitely worth it, for the battles. Now, if I were to nitpick... the pace of the film tore past things that you wanted to explore a little closer in a little more detail. There are parts of Iron City that I want to know more about. There are things the characters do that I want to see more of. “Alita: Battle Angel” is a lean story and the world building suffers just a little bit for it.
“Alita: Battle Angel” is technically brilliant, a colourful realization of a future world that you want to know more about it, know more about what’s going on, more about the why. Alita is an exploration of humanity in a world where humanity is being eeked away. And the one nitpick, it moves a little too fast, cutting past things that pique curiosity... but that’s what we hope sequels are for.
Rotten Tomatoes: 60% (boo)
Metacritic: 54 (also boo!)
One Movie Punch: 8.5/10 (yay!)
“Alita: Battle Angel” is rated M and is currently showing in theatres.
