Review of Alita: Battle Angel (2019) by Dr3Mew3Vr — 01 Apr 2019

First off, if you're a fan of anime/manga or cyberpunk, stop reading this and watch the movie now! For the rest, this is a really good sci-fi action flick about a girl's search for meaning and purpose in the world.

I'll admit, it's not a perfect movie, and some action fans thought the dialogue was too melodramatic. Other complaints were that they crammed too much plot into the two hours. Then there's those critics who complained she was too sexualized, which wasn't the case at all. It seems more likely these critics were just writing articles just for clickbait.

However, if you go to the movie with an open mind, you'll definitely get a lot out of it. There is actually a deep philosophical & spiritual theme about what it is to be human weaved into this tale, since it retains the core essence of the original Japanese story.

Interestingly, people who complained about the big eyes beforehand really forgot about it during the movie. That's because Rosa Salazar's ability to act and emote with her face (not to mention the animator's work) really helps you fall in love with her character. IMO, she really deserves an Oscar for her performance.

I also really loved the father daughter relationship between Ido and Alita. It really felt like they were a real family with a rebellious teen asserting herself.

Of course the action scenes were fantastic! They are all filmed clearly without any shaky cam or too many cuts. In fact, many martial arts were used in the movie including Ip Man's Wing Chung and Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do.

Lastly, Junkie XL's soundtrack is amazing! I've been a big fan of his since he did Fury Road. I've since bought it and listen to it all the time. It has touching moments for the character scenes and hard hitting electronic music for the action.

This really is a must see in 3D if possible since it was actually filmed in 3D as opposed to added afterwards. But at this time, the theatrical run is almost over. So if it isn't playing in your local theater, do yourself a favor and buy it once home video is available.