Alita Battle Angel Movie Review : A Breathtaking Experience, Must watch in 3D!

Story/Premise

The head and shoulders of a female cyborg is discovered by an engineer in a junk pile. Somehow; the brain is still alive. He puts her back together and treats her as his daughter and tries to shield her from her mysterious past.

Review 

The story is simple: it’s 2563, years after a global war called “The Fall” decimated the planet. Now, society is divided into to worlds: Zalem, the city in the clouds where the Haves reside, and Iron City, the scrappy, violent mecha melting pot of the Have Nots. Dr. Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz), a kindly cyber-surgeon, is combing through a junkyard when he finds the head and torso of a still living cyborg. He takes it home, houses it in a new shell and christens it Alita.

Alita (Rosa Salazar) awakens with no memory of her past life. She wanders through Iron City as an open-hearted, wide-eyed (literally) innocent. Salazar’s performance, which is rendered through motion-capture VFX, is blended together with large Anime-style eyes. It’s a big gamble to base the film around a mo-cap character, and it pays off. Alita is stunningly rendered, able to emote and bring trough Salazar’s acting. While some may experience an uncanny valley effect with Alita’s design, it worked seamlessly for me.

There’s no shortage of corniness and cliché in the film, much like Cameron’s previous work. But honestly, I was too distracted by the dazzling special effects to really care. Alita features wildly inventive and kinetic action sequences, both in the fight scenes and on the motorball track. The film is stacked with digital eye candy, and you find yourself so immersed in the world of Iron City that any plot contrivances start to fade away.

Verdict

The film, which is best seen in IMAX 3-D, is truly a breathtaking experience. Like Avatar, the story may be lacking in some areas. But the experience of viewing Alita: Battle Angel is a non-stop, entertaining as hell ride.