Movie: Alita: Battle Angel
My Rating: 2 stars
Hello all. Yes, it’s been a long time since I’ve written. I’ve had a lot going on over the last several months. But, now with this quarantine, I’ve found myself with a little more time on my hands. So, I’m preparing to dip a toe back into the movie reviews. And, do I ever have some wacky films to tell you about!
This movie, Alita: Battle Angel, is really is something. That’s as nice as I can be without straight up lying. It’s like when a friend shows you their hideous new baby, and all you can politely say is “well, look at you!” Because, this movie is a full mess. It’s a story set in some dystopic future, where the rich live in a sky-city, and the poor live in a gritty urban hellscape on the ground, with robot bounty hunters stalking the streets, seeking fast cash. And, in the midst of this, Christoph Waltz, an android doctor, finds a discarded robot girl on a trash heap, and seeks to revive her. What secrets will she reveal? Sounds like a good setting for a fun bit of sci-fi, right? This movie actually does do a pretty good job world-building. The city is interesting with its struggling economy, and the underclass that will go to any lengths to make a living. Survival is hard, and life isn’t valued much. Bounty hunting is the best option for most. Some choose straight-up crime. And, still others are engaged in dangerous death sports. But, even with all this interesting scene-setting, the movie still doesn’t manage to pull off a coherent story.
When I read reviews for this movie, the majority were criticisms. But, the most common complaint I heard was a bout the terrifying, bug-eyed, uncanny-valley horror of a main character. That would be the titular Alita. And yes, I never quite got used to her unsettling robot face. But, that wasn’t what I was hung up on. My main complaint about this film was about the terrible pacing. It felt like at one point the movie must have been a lot longer, and then was edited down to about half the length. But, it seemed like perhaps the screenwriters still wanted to keep in all the plot points, so every interaction is accelerated. Characters are introduced as if we are already supposed to know who they are. Plot points come and go so fast, you’ll forget they were even there. Characters motivations for their actions seem shockingly premature. Events happen so fast, that the whole movie feels like a training montage. Everything feels wrong. I know there are little storytelling techniques that can simulate the passage of time, and it feels like perhaps the directors should have looked into using a few of those, just so the story isn’t so jarring. It feels like there must be some way to salvage this script, but it would require a serious re-write.
I don’t like to totally pan a film, because I know a lot of people worked really hard on it, and most still have some redeeming features. And, this movie definitely does. Like I said, the world-building is excellent. The environment feels gritty and believable. But, I did not enjoy the film. The pacing and character development is so poor that I felt actively annoyed while watching it. So, I can’t recommend watching it unless you’re using it as an educational tool or something. Let’s hope the next movie I bring you will be a little better!