CAMERON, RODRIGUEZ FAIL TO WOW WITH ALITA

With a writer like James Cameron (TITANIC, AVATAR, et al) and a director like Robert Rodriguez (DUSK TO DAWN, SIN CITY, GRINDHOUSE, et al) you would think the SF action film ALITA, BATTLE ANGEL, in theaters now, would be a slam-dunk. 

In fact, I couldn’t wait to see what the collaboration of these two cinematic visionaries would produce. After all, we have hundreds of science fiction romance novels and stories being published every year—plenty of raw material to work from, right? The state of the art in computer-generated imagery is phenomenal. If you can imagine it, someone can put it on the big screen. And with guys like Cameron and Rodriguez on board, money will be no object.

But, though it’s true ALITA, BATTLE ANGEL is chock-full of CGI visual delights, it is sadly lacking in narrative cohesion or any kind of depth. Even the angst that usually affects Rodriguez’s charismatic antiheroes is missing here, replaced by a predictable cyber-teenage coming-of-age theme. The director’s touch is apparent, though, as [spoiler alert] romance falls by the wayside in favor of the tragedy that spurs our heroine on toward her ultimate fate.

The film has its moments. There is no denying the technology that allows actress Rosa Salazar to become the cyborg Alita onscreen is amazing. The incredible array of human/machine, animal/machine and machine/machine combinations that litter the screen staggers the imagination. And, of course, the fight scenes, chase scenes and rolling arena battles (think ROLLERBALL on steroids) between and among these cyborgs are a heck of a lot of fun to watch. This is a Rodriguez film, above everything.

The A-Team actors perform their jobs admirably, too, though they are given precious little to work with. Mahershala Ali, Jennifer Connelly and Christoph Waltz (who plays Dr. Ido, Alita’s savior and father-figure) behave as if they are in a real movie, while I’m sure with every break in filming they went back to their trailers and consoled themselves by repeating, “I won an Oscar!”

Much of what is wrong with ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL lies in the fact that it has nothing new to say, despite all its visual flash. The powers that be in both publishing and filmmaking persist in thinking that SF is the realm of teenagers, so we get coming-of-age themes, whether the protagonist is a young Jedi, a rebellious winner of deadly games or a rebuilt cyborg. If that protagonist falls in love, it is first love we see, and likely tragic.

In this particular case, Scarlett Johansson’s THE GHOST IN THE SHELL (2017), like ALITA originally based on a manga story, addressed the themes of identity and humanity much better because Johansson’s Major was an adult. She had agency; she could act for herself from the beginning of the story (though the question of who is really in control is central to the film).

We don’t get much of those themes in ALITA. We get a lot of action, a lot of teen yearning. We get some “who am I?” We get bad judgment from both our heroine and her teenage love interest that leads to plot turns. But nothing unpredictable enough to be called twisty or even thought-provoking. We’ve seen this before.

And that’s a shame. With all the resources behind this film, we should have been open-mouthed with awe.

Cheers, Donna