Alita: Battle Angel (2019)

Directed by: Robert Rodriguez | 122 minutes | action, adventure | Actors: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley, Keean Johnson, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Lana Condor, Idara Victor, Jeff Fahey, Eiza González, Derek Mears, Leonard Wu, Racer Maximiliano Rodriguez -Avella, Marko Zaror, Rick Yune, Hugo Perez, Casper Van Dien

The story about Alita (originally called ‘Gunnm’, which means Gun Dream in Japanese) has roughly gone through three stages of development. Initially, ‘Battle Angel Alita’, created by the Japanese Yukito Kishiro, is a 9-part Japanese cyberpunk manga comic strip that was published in JUMP manga magazine between 1990 and 1995. Then in 1993 the first two of the nine parts were adapted in an original video animation (anime) and it is called ‘Battle Angel’. In parallel, additional manga series were released between 1996 and 2018, including a novel in 1997. In the final phase, the film ‘Alita: Battle Angel’ was released on February 14, 2019 and distributed by 20th Century Fox.

The path of ‘Battle Angel’ to the cinema started when Guillermo del Toro (director of the ‘Hell Boy’ series and ‘The Shape of Water’, among others) recognized elements in the story that he knew James Cameron (director of ‘Avatar’, ‘Titanic’, ‘Terminator 2’) among others). James, who then became a fan of this manga, did indeed buy up the rights to the film adaptation of ‘Battle Angel’. However, after the success of ‘Avatar’ he wanted to focus on sequels of the blue Na’vi heroes before focusing on Alita. A visit by Robert Rodriguez (director of ‘From Dusk Till Dawn’, ‘Planet Terror’ and ‘Sin City’) to James changed this. The ball started rolling when James asked Robert to read through and shorten his script for ‘Battle Angel’. In October 2015, it was announced that Robert Rodriguez would direct the film with James Cameron as producer. This way James could focus on the follow ups to ‘Avatar’ and Robert had creative breathing room to finally bring ‘Alita: Battle Angel’ to the big screen.

The story is set in the year 2563, 300 years after the Great War (aka The Fall) that destroyed much of the Earth. However, one sky city, Zalem, literally a floating city, was left relatively unscathed and much of the remaining humanity moved into the area below this city. That’s how Iron City was born. The city had formed around a large equipment dump, caused by Zalem. In it, cyborg scientist Dr. Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz) a female cyborg (Rosa Salazar) disembodied but with a fully intact functioning human brain. He gives her a cyborg body, revives her and names her Alita. She can’t remember where she comes from, can’t remember her name, but soon finds out she’s a master of an ancient martial art, Panzer Kunst. She uses these skills to help the people in her social circle who mean a lot to her. She is thus confronted with important life questions about being human, betrayal and love. There is also a strongly segregated society in the form of Zalem, the sky city, which is forever unreachable for everyone ‘on earth’. It is therefore a common symbol of hope, a point on the horizon of a hard life and the fulfillment of sweet dreams for many who live in Iron City.

Although the plot is broadly reminiscent of a combination of ‘The Bourne Identity’ (amnesia combined with hidden qualities) and ‘Elysium’ (where the rich live in an air city and the poor fight over cliques), it goes deeper than that. Important topics are discussed here, such as the nature of man and love. These themes run like lifelines through the story and provide the viewer with the necessary intellectual and emotional oxygen. Alita is fearless. She is the proverbial hammer of justice who, with lightning-fast movements and surgical precision, makes short work of everything and everyone that poses a danger to the weak.

It’s also no surprise that everything is cast in a stunning visual jacket. James Cameron, when he only had the rights to ‘Battle Angel’ and a partially finished script, also says he waited until CGI technology was developed to do the anime justice. Iron City, the cyborgs, the battle scenes and a game played at high speeds make the whole thing what is called eye candy in English. There is also an aspect that should not go unmentioned: Alita’s eyes. The film stays true to the characteristic large manga eyes in which the emotions can be read in fine detail. Also with Alita these are windows to the soul and she speaks with her eyes more than she could with her mouth.

Alita is played in the film (via motion capture technology) by Rosa Salazar. That choice has been a good one when we consider the way she communicates through facial expressions and takes the viewer on an emotional rollercoaster as she leaves an iron mark on Iron City. Christoph Waltz is as always a warm personality who in his role as Dr. Dyson Ido is known, the companion and compass of Alita who, with her rediscovered powers, is like a true force of nature raging through Iron City. At the other end of this moral-ethical spectrum, we find the mysterious Desty Nova (Edward Norton) and his henchman and ruler of Iron City, Vector (Mahershala Ali). Mahershala has been busy ever since the underdog blockbuster and winner of 3 Oscars ‘Moonlight’. Where he appeared in ‘Green Book’ as the ultra-intellectual classical music and jazz pianist Dr. Don Shirley, he plays here convincingly as well, the tough and sadistic Vector who rules Iron City with a heavy hand and dark glasses. It’s amazing how he showcases a completely different character in both movies. He confirms that he belongs in the group of actors who can assign you any role without regret. Jennifer Connelly in her role as Chiren also creates the necessary tension. Although she is sometimes more in the background, she has an important function that speaks to every human heart (and perhaps also cyborg). ‘Alita: Battle Angel’ brings together 3 Oscar winners in Iron City, namely: Christoph Waltz, Mahershala Ali and Jennifer Connelly. The movie is highly entertaining. When you walk out of the cinema, you certainly need a few minutes to get your feet back on earth. So book a ticket quickly. Have fun!