NOTE: I have not seen nor read anything associated with Alita before. Much like Ghost in the Shell, this Hollywood take on the franchise was my first exposure to it. Which probably puts me in exactly the same position as the vast majority of the people who will read this. So I'm gonna say this is actually a good thing.
So. I saw Alita: Battle Angel. A film James Cameron has reportedly been wanting to make for decades. Also a film which until now he didn't consider possible due to technical limitations. You may recognize that as similar background to one of the planet's best-selling movies of all time, Avatar. So they've got that bit of pedigree in common, does that mean Alita is the new Avatar?
Well, if by "new Avatar" you mean "currently the best big-screen digital effects we've ever seen" then yeah. It is. There's just one issue with that. While Avatar landed amid a sea of movies that were trying (and failing) to jump across the uncanny valley, Alita lands in the middle of a sea of movies that were paying attention to Avatar's success. Avatar used cutting edge digital animation and motion capture technology to skirt the uncanny valley by making things look real because they were alien. But now, despite the occasional Grand Moff Tarkin, we also have Thanos, the Hulk, Groot, etc. It blows my mind that between the characters in Alita, the MCU, and Aquaman, we seem to have actually built a bridge across the uncanny valley. But unlike Avatar, Alita isn't the only film breaking ground in this space.
And unfortunately, that's Alita's best chance at wild success effectively eliminated. That said, while maybe not "breaking ground", I would say Alita is the best example of digital motion capture we've got right now. This movie is stunning to look at. Sure, stunning in the sense of good cinematography and pretty landscapes and whatnot, but what I really mean is it's incredible to drop in for a closeup of two people's faces, one of which is digitally rendered, and not be able to find meaningful differences between their fine muscle control and skin texture. I own Avatar I guess because it looked good, and not because of any inherent strength in the characters or story of the film. And by that reasoning, I suppose I'll probably eventually own Alita as well.
Alita also has the advantage of actually legitimately astonishing action sequences. Like, I would use the word "gratuitous" to describe the mid-action slo-mo, except much like Thor: Ragnarok before it, Alita uses the technique to generate dope-ass album covers. Every action sequence is beautifully produced and looks more real than it frankly has any right doing. It only strikes me as uncanny in retrospect, however; in the moment I was riveted and at times genuinely stunned. I did audibly cry out at one point, in fact, and this movie actually managed to make me regret not seeing it in 3D.
Now, the weak point of the movie. Which unfortunately is the substance of the movie to all y'all drama fans, but let's be honest. The trailers probably put you off this movie way before this review did. The performances of the actors are what I would universally describe as "fine". Nothing there to really draw much attention, which in a movie as star-studded as this... that was actually a touch disappointing. The story is sorta predictable, but not badly executed. Some of the characters are pretty bland, but others are genuinely interesting. The script is uninspired, but on whole there wasn't anything that made me want to die. From a writing standpoint there really wasn't anything here to put me off the strong point of the screenplay; the worldbuilding.
I'm'a tell you now, I want to go look up the source material for this movie after watching it. I've got no idea whether they actually did justice to the world in which this movie is set, but they sure did manage to make me want to spend more time in it. Ghost in the Shell, for all its beauty, did not make me more than superficially interested in the setting. Alita did. I want background. I want followup. They set up a sequel, and I hope, genuinely hope, it actually happens. The worldbuilding was hurried, as it kinda had to be, but it was compelling as well.
And when everything was said and done, I was almost completely satisfied. For anyone who's a fan of great cinematography, astonishing movie technology, or just fantastic, engaging action sequences, heck yes I'd recommend Alita: Battle Angel. If you're really looking for a highly personal human drama...
What part of this trailer made you even hope that you'd be getting that?
So. I saw Alita: Battle Angel. A film James Cameron has reportedly been wanting to make for decades. Also a film which until now he didn't consider possible due to technical limitations. You may recognize that as similar background to one of the planet's best-selling movies of all time, Avatar. So they've got that bit of pedigree in common, does that mean Alita is the new Avatar?
Well, if by "new Avatar" you mean "currently the best big-screen digital effects we've ever seen" then yeah. It is. There's just one issue with that. While Avatar landed amid a sea of movies that were trying (and failing) to jump across the uncanny valley, Alita lands in the middle of a sea of movies that were paying attention to Avatar's success. Avatar used cutting edge digital animation and motion capture technology to skirt the uncanny valley by making things look real because they were alien. But now, despite the occasional Grand Moff Tarkin, we also have Thanos, the Hulk, Groot, etc. It blows my mind that between the characters in Alita, the MCU, and Aquaman, we seem to have actually built a bridge across the uncanny valley. But unlike Avatar, Alita isn't the only film breaking ground in this space.
And unfortunately, that's Alita's best chance at wild success effectively eliminated. That said, while maybe not "breaking ground", I would say Alita is the best example of digital motion capture we've got right now. This movie is stunning to look at. Sure, stunning in the sense of good cinematography and pretty landscapes and whatnot, but what I really mean is it's incredible to drop in for a closeup of two people's faces, one of which is digitally rendered, and not be able to find meaningful differences between their fine muscle control and skin texture. I own Avatar I guess because it looked good, and not because of any inherent strength in the characters or story of the film. And by that reasoning, I suppose I'll probably eventually own Alita as well.
Alita also has the advantage of actually legitimately astonishing action sequences. Like, I would use the word "gratuitous" to describe the mid-action slo-mo, except much like Thor: Ragnarok before it, Alita uses the technique to generate dope-ass album covers. Every action sequence is beautifully produced and looks more real than it frankly has any right doing. It only strikes me as uncanny in retrospect, however; in the moment I was riveted and at times genuinely stunned. I did audibly cry out at one point, in fact, and this movie actually managed to make me regret not seeing it in 3D.
Now, the weak point of the movie. Which unfortunately is the substance of the movie to all y'all drama fans, but let's be honest. The trailers probably put you off this movie way before this review did. The performances of the actors are what I would universally describe as "fine". Nothing there to really draw much attention, which in a movie as star-studded as this... that was actually a touch disappointing. The story is sorta predictable, but not badly executed. Some of the characters are pretty bland, but others are genuinely interesting. The script is uninspired, but on whole there wasn't anything that made me want to die. From a writing standpoint there really wasn't anything here to put me off the strong point of the screenplay; the worldbuilding.
I'm'a tell you now, I want to go look up the source material for this movie after watching it. I've got no idea whether they actually did justice to the world in which this movie is set, but they sure did manage to make me want to spend more time in it. Ghost in the Shell, for all its beauty, did not make me more than superficially interested in the setting. Alita did. I want background. I want followup. They set up a sequel, and I hope, genuinely hope, it actually happens. The worldbuilding was hurried, as it kinda had to be, but it was compelling as well.
And when everything was said and done, I was almost completely satisfied. For anyone who's a fan of great cinematography, astonishing movie technology, or just fantastic, engaging action sequences, heck yes I'd recommend Alita: Battle Angel. If you're really looking for a highly personal human drama...
What part of this trailer made you even hope that you'd be getting that?
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