Alita: Battle Angel
I have read the manga back when it came in the floppy and reversed comic version available at your local comic shop in the 90s. It was actually titled, “Battle Angel Alita.” It’s been 20 years and it has finally made it onto the screen as Alita: Battle Angel.
At first, I wasn’t going to watch it, but you know what I just had to. I mean twenty years!!
Robert Rodriguez directed this in conjunction with a long gestating James Cameron script. Cameron was attached to this all through the twenty years. He even modeled his television show heroine in Dark Angel as a proto-Alita. Cameron must’ve really loved the manga. Personally, I found it okay, but I was young in the ways of manga reading at the time. Plus, it went into the weeds and the releases were few and far between before I could pass judgement.
A bit of Rodriguez leaked out. It came in the form of some cheesy love bit that felt like it was from Spy Kidz. It felt contrived, but all movies are love stories in the end. But the film redeemed itself by being rather good and not being a bad anime/manga adapation.
I’m hoping for the sequel.
3 of 5 stars.
