'Alita: Battle Angel' Review

Synopsis: Set several centuries in the future, the abandoned Alita is found in the scrapyard of Iron City by Ido, a compassionate cyber-doctor who takes the unconscious cyborg to his clinic. When Alita awakens, she has no memory of who she is, nor does she have any recognition of the world she finds herself in. As Alita learns to navigate her new life and the treacherous streets of Iron City, Ido tries to shield her from her mysterious past.

Runtime: 122 minutes

MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and for some language)

Who should see it? Teens and up, as the action can be quite gruesome for PG-13.

Based on Yukito Kishiro's manga series Gunnm, Alita: Battle Angel is directed by Robert Rodriguez and features a screenplay by James Cameron and Laeta Kalogridis. Originally Cameron was slated to direct, but his fixation on the future of the Avatar franchise kept him preoccupied. After impressing the visionary with a condensed version of Cameron's script, Rodriguez was enlisted to helm the film adaptation by Cameron himself. Cameron still produced the feature though, and his influence is quite evident in Alita's digital aesthetic since it employs the same CG-technology utilized on Avatar. If there's one thing to be said about Alita: Battle Angel, it's that the visual effects are extraordinary.

You're undoubtedly paying first-and-foremost for sensational cybernetic spectacle, as the combat sequences and motor-ball matches are particularly eye-catching. The world itself is also quite fascinating, with a unique appearance compared to other cinematic dystopian societies. I will say though that the universe's internal logic could have been better explained, as a friend of mine familiar with the source material had to clarify a few things for me afterward. 

While I don't disagree with the consensus that Alita prioritizes style over substance, the filmmakers clearly made an effort to imbue the character and over-arching narrative with a touch of sentiment. The heart of this film is derived from the lead character, and it wouldn't function without her. Thankfully, Roza Salazar provided an excellent motion-capture performance and modern technology's progressed far enough for Alita to be well-realized on the big screen. The large eyes may look a bit peculiar at first glance, but you'll adjust to them as the story progresses. On that note, that's where I deemed Alita underwhelming. You can give me two and a half hours of thrilling action, but it ultimately doesn't matter if I'm not invested in the characters and story. Unfortunately, I just didn't care about much aside from Alita. 

With virtually no chemistry between the two leads, the romantic subplot is a bore. Otherwise, the plotting drags, and the narrative's crammed with so many other threads that it's difficult to latch onto any while dialogue teeters between being exposition-heavy and inherently cheesy. The characterization for the supporting cast is notably light as well. However, I'd say Alita's most significant drawback is that too much source material was stuffed into two hours along with sequel set-up. It'd be better served as a series with more time available to flesh out the world and characters.

As I mentioned earlier, there weren't any sparks flying between Roza Salazar's Alita and Keean Johnson's Hugo. Since Salazar's nuanced expressions and mannerism were expertly translated through motion-capture, I think this was mostly due to Johnson's wooden dialogue delivery. However, writing and direction are equally at fault. Elsewhere, Christoph Waltz, Ed Skrein, and Mahershala Ali made the most of their respective roles while Jennifer Connelly felt a bit underutilized in the grand scheme of things. I do wish these characters had been more substantial though.

In spite of its shortcomings, Alita: Battle Angel's quite endearing and awe-inspiring when all is said-and-done! It's well worth the price of admission for striking visuals and thrilling action, but be prepared for artificial, automated storytelling.

Film Assessment: B-

'Deadpool' Review

From the fact this was even green lit by 20th Century Fox to its viral marketing, this film astounded me again-and-again. The brilliant marketing campaign for this film is probably one of the best marketing campaigns ever that seemed to perfectly match the character of Deadpool and promise an enjoyable experience. Deadpool totally delivered. 

Director Tim Miller knows how to handle the character as Deadpool kicks the gates wide open, immediately tearing down the fourth wall with a brutally honest, hysterical opening credits. This was shortly followed by an action scene on a bridge that either had me laughing or left my mouth agape in amazement. Although, most of the film had that effect. 

The action is pretty front-heavy due to the lower budget, with little tid-bits sprinkled through the remainder of the film leading to the finale, but it certainly hits the mark. From there we jump back and forth between the present narrative and flashbacks to explain Deadpool's origin and I loved the non-linear storytelling that transpired as it allowed the entire film to be interesting instead of a buildup to the superhero origin, a tendency of most superhero origin films. 

Oh, and by the way Deadpool is by no means a hero, but rather a anti-hero since his methods are quite violent. And what makes the film so entertaining isn't the plot but rather the character of Deadpool. 

Ryan Reynolds was born for this role, embracing the looney personality of the Merc with a Mouth. Reynolds offers not only a great performance in terms of line delivery, comedic timing, and action, but also shows some acting chops for the emotional heart of Wade Wilson. Reynolds also seems to have fallen in love with the character and will ensure he's given the respect deserved to ensure fans will be happy. 

Moreno Baccarin plays Wilson's love interest, Vanessa Carlysle, and she works so well bouncing off Ryan Reynolds. The two provided a very authentic, romantic chemistry. 

T.J. Miller portrays Weasel and makes a great comedic actor to play comedic tennis with Reynolds, hitting jokes and gags off one another with lightning speed. 

Brianna Hildebrand brings Negasonic Teenage Warhead to the big screen for the first time, and she was awesome in the action sequences and I loved how her character configured into the comedy as Deadpool would chastise her. Colossus was the other X-Men (X-Man?) in the film and I think that this film's interpretation is the best version of Colossus we have seen in the X-Men film universe. I loved how his character was connected to the narrative and how Deadpool would ridicule Colossus and the X-Men, even managing to point out that the studio couldn't afford another. 

The antagonists, Ed Skrein and Gina Carano who portrayed Ajax and Angel Dust respectively, were generic villains for Deadpool to fight with Angel Dust as the muscle and Ajax as the skillful, brains of the operation. But both filled the respective roles with a refined and edgy takes on the characters. 

Deadpool was the perfect adaptation of the source material that made for the funniest movie I've seen in a very long time. I would also daresay that I'd rank it in my personal list of the Top 10 comic-book films made to this point. To be totally honest, I'm amazed at the fact that I enjoyed this movie as much as I did given that I'm not "crazy" about the character of Deadpool. Don't fret Deadpool fans, this is the movie you've long awaited and it remains perfectly in synch with the source material. 

A brief disclaimer, though the character of Deadpool can certainly appeal to children, I would highly advise against bringing a child to see Deadpool because this film is not just rated "R." It pushes the limits and boundaries of that rating, making for a very hard "R" film filled with blood, gore, edgy violence, sexual content, and inappropriate humor. But in all fairness, that is perfectly in character for Deadpool and I seriously doubt this film could have been made with as much respect for the character if it had gone with a "PG-13" rating. 

Now to all my female readers, take your man to see this movie on Valentine's Day. I promise you won't regret it as I think it actually makes for a great date movie that has something everyone can enjoy, energized action sequences, meta-comedy, and romance. 

Film Assessment: A B+