Alita Battle Angel review
Alita Battle Angel
Based on a manga of the same name. In a post apocalyptic 26th century city a cyborg girl is discovered on a trash heap, but that is just the beginning of the story. What follows is a journey of discovery as the girl seeks out information on who she is and where she came from. There are a few plot lines, but they mainly focus on Alita's journey, and on the people around her. These include Dr. Dyson Dio, the scientist who discovered her, and Hugo, a human who dreams of moving to the sky city of Zalem (which looms in the background both physically and figuratively).
There are many aspects to Alita's journey which are covered. Firstly there is the backstory as to who and what she is. The hints are dropped throughout the story, slowly, leading in a believable manner from the previous revelation. Highly Advanced technology, as an enemy combatant in the war that destroyed the other sky cities. This is revealed in a very effective manner. The various flashbacks that occur as she remembers flashes of her past are not gratuitous. That overcomes all the problems that comes her way is realistic.
However that certainly isn't all to her story. There is also Hugo, and her relationship with him. It may seem fast, but it leads to a very effective climax. For not only is Alita developed, so is Hugo, as a rather tragic figure. He is given promises, and he is willing to go to extreme length to deliver his end of those bargains. The conflict that arises as a result of his relationship with Alita and the deeds he and a couple of his friends commit causes a personal crisis for both him and Alita, especially as Alita had signed up to be a Hunter-Warrior.
Of course, any good story has antagonists, and film has many. There are other Hunter-Warriors, Dio's ex-wife Chirrin, various cyborg assassins and Vector, who runs the Motorball gamex (and other aspects of life in the city). All these antagonists prove to be obstacles to Alita (and Hugo) in various ways, but it is Vector who seems to be the main villain. But it turns out that Vector is as trapped as Hugo is, with someone living in Zalem using him as a puppet. Overall, this is a very interesting film. 9.25/10.