Review of Alita: Battle Angel (2019) by Morbox — 28 Feb 2019

It's really no wonder the usual film critics don't get the movie. As an adaptation of a Manga, it doesn't wear its philosophy on its sleeve, doesn't plaster its message over every surface. And it uses larger than life characters while still making everything seem down to earth - in a science fiction movie. It just doesn't fit the mold.

It is a beautiful movie, in visuals, plot and emotion, and as a fan of the Manga I thoroughly approve. The only reason I can't give a 10 is that it still feels a little crammed...although Rodriguez did a great job keeping everything clean and simple in a movie chock full of moments. Even then I know where they were coming from. There really isn't anything you could take away without seriously detracting from the story, the worldbuilding or the characters. I get why they whittled down the Makaku arch (which is a pity, but it alone wouldn't fill a movie and would feel too Marvel-like - they honor the missing character by not calling his stand-in big bad non-character Makaku) and so they needed to get somewhere with the movie, maxing out the acceptable runtime and filling it up to the notch - but in a (mostly) good way! Another little issue is that they made some changes that cranked up the heroic aspects of Alita (and, especially, her old self).

The changes to the Manga mostly don't hurt and are usually understandable. Some even showed me that "streamlining" can be a good thing. What they did with the berserker backstory makes a lot of sense and plays up the uncomfortable aspects of the main character.

Talking about eerieness: Not that they needed it (the visuals are gorgeous!), but this is the first movie where the uncanny valley effect was used to help a movie, instead of unintentionally hindering it. Alita's huge eyes make her seem somewhat alien, but endearing, but the other cyborg characters often seem jarring, especially Zapan and one of the cyborgs in the ambush early on, which fits the movie perfectly! After all, it is (among other things) a movie about how technology interacts with people - how we use it to miraculous effect and for petty monstrosities alike. No one could embody that better than Desty Nova, who remains elusive throughout the movie, as well he should.