"Alita: Battle Angel" Review: A Must-See Movie Brings In A New Cinematic Experience

Cast: Christoph Waltz, Rosa Salazar, Mahershala Ali, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Skrein, Jeff Fahey, Michelle Rodriguez, Keena Johnson

Director: Robert Rodriguez

Rating: 3,5 out of 5

Set in the year 2563, Alita: Battle Angel is an action-packed fantasy that follows a journey of a cyborg teenager named Alita (played by Rosa Salazar) as she discovers who she was in her past life and what her new life holds for her. This film is based upon the manga Gunnm, also known as Battle Angel Alita, written by Yukito Kishiro. The screenplay was written by James Cameron, and Laeta Kalogridis and the movie is helmed by Robert Rodriguez (director of Sin City, Spy Kids City, and Machete).

The film begins with its main character being discovered in a scrapyard in Iron City by a cyber-physician named Dyson Ido (played by Christoph Waltz). She has a shattered body with only her heart, and her brain is still incredibly intact. Dyson later takes Alita to his home and tries to fix her by giving her a new robotic body and helps her get back on her feet. She awakes, but she cannot remember anything about herself even her name, so she feels alone and isolated in this strange world. Dyson gives her the temporary name Alita until she reminds who she is. The two actors form a father-daughter relationship, which is surprisingly heartfelt and genuine. Christoph Waltz (as Dyson Ido) makes us genuinely believe that he cares about her and for him, she is like his daughter. He teaches her about the world she lives in, becomes overprotective of her and gives her all the best. Also, Alita always looks to him for guidance and support.

Like all young girls, Alita is curious and wants to have fun. She meets Hugo, a street boy and robot-junk dealer (played by Keenan Johnson) and then falls in love with him. Hugo introduces her about the local culture as well as teaches her how to play the sport named Motorball. His dream is to go to the SkyCity of-of Zalem, for which he has been stealing parts for Vector (played by Mahershala Ali), one fixer for the Motorball tournament.

Later, Alita quickly learns that she is more than just some random cyborgs. She realizes that she’s got the instincts of a warrior and the more she fights, the more she remembers. As Alita attempts to find out who she is, she starts messing with the wrong people and grabs the attention of an evil overlord named Nova who has been puppeteering Vector, putting her loved ones in danger. Rosa Salazar truly shined when getting into the skin of Alita. In spite of having a metal body, her human qualities show through, and the young actress makes the audiences root for Alita as she faces many obstacles.

The visual effects in the movie is spectacular with great action and truly brutal fight scenes. Lots of CGI and special-effects films fail because of the strange effects, but this was not one of them. The pacing is a bit slow, but it’s understandable that it needs time to introduce the characters and the complicated world in the film. Also, the film doesn’t have a proper ending that somehow made the fans a little bit disappointed. However, it has set up a premise for the future sequels that is expected to take the story further.

In general, Alita: Battle Angel brings the audiences in a new cinematic experience. The plot is incredible, and the cast delivers a fantastic performance. The film is one of the must-see movies in 2019.