ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: ROBERT RODRIGUEZ / SCREENPLAY: JAMES CAMERON, LAETA KALOGRIDIS / STARRING: ROSA SALAZAR, CHRISTOPH WALTZ, JENNIFER CONNELLY, KEEAN JOHNSON / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Based on the 90s manga “Gunnm” by Yukito Kishiro, Alita: Battle Angel is the story of a cyborg found in a scrapyard discovering who she truly is and what place she has in the world.
Directed by visionary filmmaker Robert Rodriguez and produced by movie legends James Cameron and Jon Landau, Alita is a passion project that is over 20 years in the making. Rosa Salazar stars as the titular hero who, after being discovered and rebuilt by Dr Ido (Christoph Waltz), sets off on an emotional journey that will have her encounter hunter-warriors, the crazy sport of motorball and her first love Hugo all whilst trying to understand who she truly is.
Rodriguez has done a superb job crafting a truly breathtaking world by bringing to life the world of Alita straight from the pages of Kishiro-san’s work. The special effects are like none you have ever seen and Alita herself is an absolute marvel. Salazar’s performance shines through the entire CGI face as is easily one of the most human performances you will see all year.
The Iron City in which Alita’s story takes place is as much of a character as any of the humans or cyborgs that walk the streets. Every corner of the city feels alive and vibrant and fully pulls the audience into the moment. The action set-pieces, including an incredibly thrilling motorball sequence in the second half of the film, will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.
Alita: Battle Angel does a frankly wonderful job at adapting a manga which is, as you may know, something that is very hit and miss especially in recent memory – this honestly feels like the pages of the source material have been vividly brought to life on the big screen. Even though the ending may be considered “sequel bait”, the fact that the world of Alita has such rich material and countless future stories to tell is nothing but exciting for the future of, which is hopefully going to become a franchise.
For new and old fans alike, Alita: Battle Angel hits all of the right notes from powerful performances and stunning action to breathtaking visuals – it’s most certainly a sci-fi blockbuster that will definitely develop a cult following and is proof that taking the right care and attention with such a beloved source material can do wonders for movie adaptations.
Extras:
The Blu-Ray version of Alita: Battle Angel comes with over two hours of fantastic bonus features which enhance the experience of the world of Alita. For fans of the manga or new fans because of the movie, these extras are not to be missed!
ALITA’S WORLD (The Fall [5:05], Iron City [3:19], What It Means to Be A Cyborg [2:28], Rules of the Game [2:52]) – An animated history of the world of Alita: Battle Angel. A great addition for viewers who want to gather more information on how the world and character came to be as they are in the movie.
FROM MANGA TO SCREEN [20:47] – Behind-the-scenes interviews with Director Robert Rodriguez, Producers James Cameron & Jon Landau, Rosa Salazar and Alita creator Yukito Kishiro on the history of how Alita was brought to life from the books onto the big screen.
EVOLUTION OF ALITA [19:43] – Behind-the-scenes interviews with cast and crew on how they brought Alita to life. Also includes in-depth interview with Rosa Salazar on her training regime for the role and includes some footage from her audition and screen tests when cast as Alita.
MOTORBALL [6:02] – A look at the sport of Motorball that is straight out of the Manga.
LONDON SCREENING Q&A [26:38] – A Q&A with Director Robert Rodriguez, Producers James Cameron & Jon Landau, Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz and Jennifer Connelly that was screened before the London Fan Screening at Cineworld Leicester Square.
10 MINUTE COOKING SCHOOL: CHOCOLATE [5:28] – A fun recipe for Chocolate presented and narrated by Director Robert Rodriguez.
2005 ART COMPILATION (2019) [14:20] – A slideshow of the original concept art reel by James Cameron and his team in 2005.
SCENE DECONSTRUCTION – A selection of four scenes in which you, the viewer, can watch them during one of three stages of production – the original (with no CGI), the animation stage (with animated models and minimal working CGI) and the Final cut (with all CGI 100% implemented).
Alita: Battle Angel is out now on 4K, Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital Download.
