‘Alita: Battle Angel’ has an entertaining cyberpunk story, amazing special effects

Posted on February 22, 2019

By MARK VIOLA

Director James Cameron has been wanting to make a live-action adaptation of the Japanese manga (graphic novel) series Gunnm (known in English as “Battle Angel Alita”) since before he made Titanic. Back then, the technology wasn’t sufficiently advanced, so he had to wait. He would shelve the project again to direct “Avatar,” and when he dove head first into making as many as four sequels to that film, it seemed his adaptation would never be born.

Enter director Robert Rodriguez (“Sin City”), with Cameron staying on as producer, and we finally have a film that many had given up any hope of ever seeing.

I can say the wait was definitely worth it, because “Alita: Battle Angel” is a wild ride with spectacular special effects and a cyberpunk story filled with cyborgs, floating cities and incredibly entertaining action.

First off, the film’s special effects are amazing, as you might expect from Cameron, even if he isn’t directing. The Alita we see on the screen is a computer creation, and while the early trailers turned some people off with her large, anime-inspired eyes, you get used to it very quickly.

The story is solid, but the ending might not work for everyone. The film is based on a long-running series, so I wasn’t expecting every plot thread to be tied up or question answered before the credits started to roll. Based on the early box office returns, a sequel is by no means a sure bet, but I think the story presented here can be satisfying enough on its own.

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