MovieChat Forums > Alita: Battle Angel (2019) Discussion > Ads were way too much BATTLE, nowhere ne...

Ads were way too much BATTLE, nowhere near enough ANGEL. Did the movie a disservice, because it's amazing!

posted 5 years ago by Frogarama (12942)
11 replies | jump to latest

This needs to be a billion dollar movie.

If this had been pushed as a sweet, beautiful, moving drama, a 300 year old teenage war cyborg's coming-of-age tale that takes place in a stylized "wild west" of the far future, I think it would be on its way to a billion easily.

This movie should have legs and make good money as people spread word of mouth. That's what Avatar did too.

Alita was so good, I'm going to see it again next weekend, and it's such a touching drama that I'm going to take my mom! I took her to see Avatar, which she loved, and the connection between it and Alita is enough to get her into the theater for this one.

Seriously, this is one of the best movies I've ever seen. The 3D is so well done, too, achieving once again the finest purpose for this tech: Just like fully captured human performances that come through the cgi and feel "right," seeing big effects like this intimately close in 3D imparts a truly vivid realism to it. Then those nuances of human movement and expression added in, largely stunning photorealistic rendering...

I'll stick with vividly realistic. I saw it in IMAX 3D and can't imagine seeing it in anything lesser. Amazing gorgeous visuals, great story and characters, iconic scenes, all this combines to remind me why I love movies.

And the kicker: The most emotional action scenes EVER. Steel-shattering war-cyborg martial arts fuel these escalating fights that become the steps a girl takes to asserting herself and becoming her own woman.

It was shockingly good, but I did not expect it to be so sweet and touching. More Angel, but plenty of Battle.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8289) 5 years ago

Glad to hear you enjoyed it. I was also surprised by how much I ended up liking it.

You mention that it's a "a sweet, beautiful, moving drama, a 300 year old teenage war cyborg's coming-of-age tale." Grace Randolph (not sure if you follow her at all; she's on YouTube) had an interesting insight in her review of the film where she said that it takes its sci-fi action story and marries it with the Disney princess formula. It's not a perfect comparison, but I do think there's something interesting there to think about.

Considering where the story ends, it will be a damn shame if we don't ever get a sequel. I'm not going to get my hopes up, but fingers crossed.

[–] Frogarama (12942) 5 years ago

Well, I wouldn't give Disney any ownership of that. Historical princesses were often put in arranged marriages with princes (or etc) of other lands in order to achieve political unity, stuff like that.

The romanticizing angle Disney adds on is a range of your basic (and then idealized) high school infatuation-romance, up through "young love" of a 20-something year old.

I see Alita as more in the range of Annie, some (Robo-) Pinocchio, the same high school romance noted above, but most of all a HEAVY dose of "Sci-Fi Joan of Arc."

[–] AnubisRaydeen (7897) 5 years ago

What would you give it on a 1 to 10 scale? Not sure if I'm buying into the hype.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8289) 5 years ago

Not sure about Frogarama, but I can tell you that I'd give it an 8.

[–] AnubisRaydeen (7897) 5 years ago

It does sound promising ... but I did not like Avatar so I am reticent.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8289) 5 years ago

Well this is a totally different movie from Avatar. I also thought Avatar was a disappointment. But other than Cameron's involvement as a producer, the two films have nothing in common.

[–] AnubisRaydeen (7897) 5 years ago

Well I guess I have to now. The only person on here who has complained about the film torpedoed himself with lack of details and troll language.
Thanks.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8289) 5 years ago

I don't want to over-sell it. Usually best to go into any film with modest expectations, so as not to be disappointed. But it's a good sci-fi actioner and, as Frogorama says in the OP, it has a lot of heart.

Give it a look and let us all know what you thought.

[–] Frogarama (12942) 5 years ago

10. It's amazing imo

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8289) 5 years ago

Sci-fi Joan of Arc. That's an interesting thought.

Not sure I totally understand it in Alita's case though. Joan of Arc thought she heard the voice of God, rose up to become a military commander, and ultimately was executed for her religious beliefs.

Other than Alita also being a warrior, where is the parallel?

[–] Frogarama (12942) 5 years ago

It first struck me when Ido pointed out that her brain was biologically 16, same as Joan at her end.

However, Alita also heard an inner calling from her creator, this time being the one(s) who trained her, instilled a drive to destroy evil, and ultimately replaced her body with the Berserker system.

She was executed for standing up to evil, too.... But being a cyborg, luckily she just needed that old Berserker body back.