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[tab title="Movie Review"]
This film has been a revelation for this reviewer. I am always banging on about product coming out of Hollywood being just remakes and sequels these days. I pine and whine about the fact that they just don’t take risks anymore. This film has proved to me I am part of the problem. Alita: Battle Angel is a title I’ve heard in varying arrangements for over two decades. But all the times I heard James Cameron claiming it was his next movie just made me put it out of my mind. It was one of those development Hell type projects, I assumed, and so it didn’t raise any flags when it finally went into production with Robert Rodriguez at the helm in late 2016. When the trailers hit, I was equally middle of the road. Sure, the effects looked impressive, but it just looked like another high budget spectacle movie with no connection to the characters doing spectacular things. I also rarely enjoy anything based on Japanese Manga, as Hollywood rarely if ever translates it well. My preconceptions kept me out of a session. Luckily, being invited out with a friend and his family, led me to sit through this.
Well, once again, the marketing hacks in LaLaLand have not shown us what heart lies behind the explosions, and this twit (yes, me) has not given a massive risk a shot on release. This was a mistake that I will try to rectify now, while it’s still playing.
Set in a distant millennium, Alita: Battle Angel opens with a doctor (Christoph Waltz) scouring a dump site and coming upon the remnants of a cyborg (Rosa Salazar) in the junk. When he manages to salvage this cyborg, what wakes up is a delightful, curious and kind young woman who he names Alita. As Alita slowly starts to learn about her savior and the ‘have not’ Iron City they inhabit, the paradise city above them called Zalem taunts promises to all the downtrodden. Then, as Alita explores, she comes into varying conflicts and discovers she has extraordinary agility and combat skills. Alita adapts quickly, falls for a boy, makes friends, and learns secrets about herself, those in her life, and her own past that bring her full circle to become the greatest threat to Zalem they’ve seen in centuries.
The characterization of Alita, in fact all the good guys, is first rate. Each has a preconception to develop from; each of them morphs throughout the unfolding narrative, to keep you wondering what will happen next. You can ask no better of characters you are first meeting. Every single one of them makes the time spent worth it. Alita herself is an extraordinary technical achievement. She is otherworldly, but immediately relatable. She is endearing, both in appearance and in character. I quickly was moved by her and invested in her plight. {googleads}
Plot is where the film made a misstep. Taking their time to set things up works, especially in the aforementioned character department, but the story should have been self-contained. Instead, the end the film very abruptly, with some huge arcs left dangling. Not tendrils—interesting side bits that promise more—full unresolved arcs. Also the bad guys are nowhere near as fleshed out as the good. Without giving anything away, there is main bad guy, alluded to, talked about throughout the entire move, and played by a high profile actor right at the end that is left for next time. The plotting smacks of commercialism over substance. And this film HAS SUBSTANCE, so is doubly frustrating.
There are some top shelf talents. I don’t think Christoph Waltz ever does a bad performance. But he eschews his usual quirky and bad guy personas to inhabit and tragic man with an enormous empathy and gentleness. Rosa Salazar emphatically joins the likes of Andy Serkis as a premiere performance capture actor with her affecting turn as the lead. She is extraordinary, and shows amazing range after slumming it in bit parts for the YA crowd. Jennifer Connelly also puts in a very layered supporting turn that takes some surprising turns.
Effects, are, as you would expect with James Cameron’s input, amazing. The depth of textures and immersion with everything, from Alita herself to the world she inhabits, is the best there is. This film has obviously benefitted greatly from Cameron’s lengthy periods of invention while creating his Avatar movies. Because the trailers were so soulless and I, like the many who see lots of movies, just assumed this was a better technical version of Final Fantasy from two decades ago, I didn’t pay enough attention to what they have achieved. It’s extraordinary work.
Robert Rodriguez’s output as a director is as varied in quality as he can be in style. I think this is one of his finest directorial turns. There is real emotion infused in this fantastical movie. His panorama shots are wistful, his fight scenes are visceral, and his romantic scenes are a nod to the classics.
The score, by Tom Holkenborg (or Junkie XL), who’s work on Batman V Superman impressed, perfectly complimented the tragic sweetness and rise of this new heroine.
This film is not getting its due, because of preconceptions and a marketing push that doesn’t highlight anything but effects and action. This is such a disservice to this movie. It is heartfelt, it is beautiful, and it is relatable. I highly recommend you go see this, should this still be playing in your area. They have made a major, cynical plotting mistake, and should have given this film the self-contained round off it deserved. But if they get the attention they deserve, a remarkable character might just be in one of those sequels I don’t bitch about in my next review.
Go now. Do yourself a favor.
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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]
Blu-ray Details:
Home Video Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Available on Blu-ray - July 23, 2019
Screen Formats: 2.39:1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1; English: Dolby Digital 2.0; French: Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set; Digital copy; Movies Anywhere; DVD copy
Region Encoding: Region-free playback
Overall, this blu-ray + DVD + Digital edition of Alita: Battle Angel is a top-notch release from 20th Century and one you'll be proud to add to your blu-ray collection. Pop in the disc and amaze your friends with the astonishing visuals and immersive sound.
Video
For the perfect example of the five star video quality we're talking about in this 2.39:1 transfer from 20th Century, one only need check out the scene where Alita is first introduced to Iron City. Our astonishment is mimicked by that of wide-eyed Alita as the clean, crisp visuals come to life with an amazing clarity. The film is a very colorful one dominated by yellows, tans, and darker earth tones in many of the daylight scenes, while greens, reds and blues of costumes and uniforms tease the eyes in darker scenes. Hair, skin, thread on costumes, and even details of background elements always remain sharp and crisp and never waiver.
Audio
20th Century's English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 soundtrack is a monster on this release with booming sounds that are handled perfectly and never stop moving about the room. To see what you system has, fast-forward to the Motorball scene where you will be underconstant assault from all directions. Another example is the fight scene that takes place in the underworld. Metallic clanks and crumbling rock, set the room on fire with sounds that crack from above, below, left and right, while the rears and sub carry a significant load as well.
Supplements:
Commentary:
- None
Special Features:
20th Century Fox gets us battle ready this summer with the blu-ray + DVD + Digital edition of Alita: Battle Angel that features an astounding transfer and hours of extensive special features that take us behind-the-scenes with James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez to see the journey from Manga to Screen and what it took to bring Alita to life. Plus, we go deeper into the universe of ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, where we learn about the past, the characters of the present, and the thrilling sport of Motorball.
- Alita’s World - get a deeper look into the world of Alita: Battle Angel with these dynamic motion comics.
- The Fall - a look back at the terrible war that almost destroyed two planets and set the stage for the cyborg warrior Alita’s return 300 years later.
- Iron City - Hugo gives a guided tour of the Iron City he knows, showing off its dark corners and broken-down neighborhoods.
- What it Means to be a Cyborg - hunter-warrior Zapan tracks his mark across Iron City while musing about what it means to be a cyborg.
- Rules of the Game - A high-octane “crash course” in Motorball, introducing the rules, game-play, and the top-ranked players and their arsenal of weapons.
- From Manga to Screen – a behind-the-scenes look into the origins of Yukito Kishiro’s beloved manga, “Gunnm,” and the long road to bring it to life on the big screen.
- Evolution of Alita - how Alita was brought to life, from the casting of Rosa Salazar, to performance capture, and final VFX by WETA Digital.
- Motorball - go inside Iron City’s favorite pastime, from the origins and evolution of the sport, to rules on how the game is played.
- James Cameron, Robert Rodriguez and cast Q&A moderated by Jon Landau.
- Robert Rodriguez’s 10 Minute Cooking School: Chocolate - a cooking lesson on how to make delicious chocolate like that seen in the movie.
- 2005 Art Compilation (2019) - James Cameron’s original compilation of concept art for the then-titled “Battle Angel: Alita,” presented with new voiceover and music.
- Scene Deconstruction - view three different stages of the production - the original live action performance capture, the animation stage, and the final Weta VFX from four different scenes
- I Don’t Even Know My Own Name
- Just an Insignificant Girl
- I’m a Warrior Aren’t I?
- Kansas Bar
Blu-ray Rating:
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[tab title="Details"]
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and for some language.
Runtime: 122 mins
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Writer: James Cameron, Laeta Kalogridis
Cast: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly
Genre: Action | Adventure
Tagline: It's Time for Battle.
Memorable Movie Quote: "I'd do whatever I had to for you. I'd give you whatever I have. I'd give you my heart."
Theatrical Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox
Official Site: www.foxmovies.com/movies/alita-battle-angel
Release Date: February 14, 2019
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
Synopsis: A deactivated female cyborg is revived, but cannot remember anything of her past life and goes on a quest to find out who she is.
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[tab title="Art"]
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