Heart to Cyberheart
Alita: Battle Angel 3D
Review by Ross Anthony

What a wonderful character! Alita is so beautifully and magically brought to life by artists, animators, writers, and Rosa Salazar (who acts her to perfection). It's a bit of a shame that the movie unraveling all around her couldn't quite match that splendor. Too much of the time, I felt like I was waiting to be swept away and I never quite was – well, save for once or twice. Aside from those absolutely wonderful 5 or 10 minutes of movie magic connection, I just felt like the production was more concerned about setting up the next action sequence (and there are many) than an emotional connection with its audience.

While the story is curious enough, the production packs too much of it (along with a lot of action) into this installment. It's apparently a series, so why not take some time to really enjoy (in a literary way) these interesting characters and relationships. Ido's wife is a strong example of a character ripe and ready to have more and richer nuanced drama. Sadly, they paint her black and white. I say, cut this film into two installments and give as loving and lavish attention to the character arcs as given to the splendid action choreography. Btw, those slow-motion twisting-through-air moments are wonderful – I would have loved them to have done that metaphorically on the emotive level!

Alita is alive in a cardboard character world. Ido breaks though at times, but the writers (or the editors) hold him back. I would have also liked to see interactions with regular people. Without the working Joes and Janes of this future, I feel left out of this world that filmmakers have recreated so carefully.

That said, preteens will likely love this film. I certainly would have loved it at that age. Despite this mixed review, I must admit I appreciated the light, confident way it made me feel afterwards.

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  • Alita: Battle Angel 3D. Copyright © 2019.
  • Starring Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Keean Johnson. Directed by Robert Rodriquez. Written by James Cameron, Laeta Kalogridis, Robert Rodriguez. 20th Century Fox.

Grade..........................B (2/4)


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Copyright © 1998-2023 Ross Anthony, Author - Speaker - Solo World Circumnavigator In addition to reviewing films and interviewing celebs at HollywoodReportCard.com, traveling the world, composing great music, motivational speaking, Mr. Anthony also runs his own publishing company in the Los Angeles area. While traversing the circumference of the planet writing books and shooting documentaries, Mr. Anthony has taught, presented for, worked &/or played with locals in over 30 countries & 100 cities (Nairobi to Nagasaki). He's bungee-jumped from a bridge near Victoria Falls, wrestled with lions in Zimbabwe, crashed a Vespa off a high mountain road in Taiwan, and ridden a dirt bike across the States (Washington State to Washington DC). To get signed books ("Rodney Appleseed" to "Jinshirou") or schedule Ross to speak check out: www.RossAnthony.com or call 1-800-767-7186. Go into the world and inspire the people you meet with your love, kindness, and whatever it is you're really good at. Check out books by Ross Anthony. Rand() functions, Pho chicken soup, rollerblading, and frozen yogurt (w/ blueberries) also rock! (Btw, rand is short for random. It can also stand for "Really Awkward Nutty Dinosaurs" -- which is quite rand, isn't it?) Being alive is the miracle. Special thanks to Ken Kocanda, HAL, Jodie Keszek, Don Haderlein, Mom and Pops, my family, R. Foss, and many others by Ross Anthony. Galati-FE also deserves a shout out. And thanks to all of you for your interest and optimism. Enjoy great films, read stirring novels, grow.


Last Modified: Tuesday, 26-Feb-2019 15:18:48 PST