Movie Review: Alita Battle Angel
This was better than I thought it would be. I am familiar with the manga though I haven’t read it all. From what I recall the movie is pretty faithful and mainly just glosses over things. The world-building is generally good. I found myself really invested in the setup with the floating city and the mysterious war 300 years prior. The CGI and action are really top notch. The fight scenes in particular had a really cool sense of speed and weight that fit the cyborg nature of the characters. It’s a solid origin story that comfortably wears its anime tropes on its sleeve looking slick the whole way.
Alita herself is a multifaceted and believable character. The supporting cast is decent, particularly Christophe Waltz as her scientist father figure. The main weaknesses were the lackluster villains, the annoying love interest, and the lack of tension due to Alita herself being so ridiculously overpowered. Alita falls head over heels for literally the first guy she meets, a moron named Hugo, even to the point of literally offering him her heart. She should have flown solo or at least had higher standards. Happily it didn’t take much away from an enjoyable flick. Would love to see this one get an even more audacious sequel.
Grade: B
