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Battle Angel Alita: A Robert Rodriguez Film
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Apart from the obvious "WTF are those eyes?", I'm not very impressed. I just hope the action scenes are good on their own.
"I'd give you whatever I have. I'd give you my heart." *hands out her literal machine heart* Really... 
Eeeh... I'm afraid to look, really. I remember the Ghost in the Shell movie from a year or two ago, that got the visuals and iconic setpieces like the jump-out-a-window scene perfect, and still managed to be a horrible mess in terms of the overall lore and as a movie in its own right. I can't say I'm a huge BAA fan, but I liked it enough to not want to see a bad rendition.
Really, the question is 'is this a cash grab, or is this an honest attempt to make a good movie?'
Something about this reminds me of the OVA
I love the smell of rotaries in the morning. You know one time, I got to work early, before the rush hour. I walked through the empty carpark, I didn't see one bloody Prius or Golf. And that smell, you know that gasoline smell, the whole carpark, smelled like.... ....speed. One day they're going to ban them. 
If it were just a cash-grab, Cameron wouldn't've been busting his butt to get it made for the last decade or more.
-- Bob
I have been Roland, Beowulf, Achilles, Gilgamesh, Clark Kent, Mary Sue, DJ Croft, Skysaber. I have been called a hundred names and will be called a thousand more before the sun grows dim and cold....
Cameron might not have proper editorial control of the movie.
Now, admittedly, it's James Cameron, so he probably does have it, but it's possible.
On the one hand, Rodriguez has been behind some truly terrible films.
On the other hand, his rendition of Sin City was pretty much spot on pitch perfect and this is Cameron's passion project (that he just doesn't have time of because of his commitment to the Avatar films) so I imagine with Cameron reigning in his bad traits I'm cautiously optimistic. Also, I'm of the opinion the uncanny valley face is entirely intentional here. (12-09-2017, 07:57 PM)Epsilon Wrote: On the one hand, Rodriguez has been behind some truly terrible films. *nods* Since Alita is the only one with the 'anime-style' big eyes, I'm guessing it's chalked up to her being a gynoid/cyborg
Just got out the door.
I enjoyed it. Visually it's well realised - especially in IMAX. Beautiful 3D ultraviolence. I cann't really review it because I'm familiar with the source material - but it makes a big effort to get as much of the big "Alita" coolness in for people to enjoy. The beauty of a preview screening is that I can finally enjoy a movie for six whole days before the internet tells me why it's shite and I should hate it. And that a few of the scenes the movie added to flesh out the background or introduce concepts - I enjoyed. One or two things bugged me, but they're minor little things. I think certain elements may be introduced a little too early - but that's probably because the film is a condensation, and the film knows a lot of those things in advance. It goes along like a bat out of hell. I love the smell of rotaries in the morning. You know one time, I got to work early, before the rush hour. I walked through the empty carpark, I didn't see one bloody Prius or Golf. And that smell, you know that gasoline smell, the whole carpark, smelled like.... ....speed. One day they're going to ban them.
Well, as long as it’s being as faithful to the manga as it’s possible for a movie to be.
Your non-review makes me cautiously optimistic. That is an exceptionally favorable reaction from me to anything out of Hollywood this century.
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noli esse culus
Real Critics seem to be mixed. know why they're negative. I can sort oif see it if I was being serious and trying to find fault. It's a bit too PG-13 at times for example. And it changes gears a bit too much to try and get a lot of the 'Alita' tropes in. Even though I knew almost exactly how the story would go and the exact point it would end at from something like minute 5 or 10 - I didn't particularly care. I mean, people are already bitching because it didn't ask serious questions or that the plot is that bit simple and a bit clunk but at the same time it doesn't exactly make you suffer for it (Not like Avatar which is well up its own hole most of them time)and it doesn't overstay it's welcome.
It's not as dull, dark and lifeless as the OVA. I hated it when I tried to rewatch it and I enjoyed the Manga. It's energetic and fun and looks amazing onscreen. I wont make sweeping statements like, If you liked the Manga, you'll like the film. But everyone I've spoken to who's seen it has enjoyed it. Like I said - I've six days to be happy before the misereable dicks on the internet who ruin things by telling me why I have to hate them get their teeth into it. And it's not Last Order. Which bored the hole off me wandering around itself. I think I finished that but after so many pages of 'Your Princess is in Another Castle' and a book or two of vampires, I just sort of lost interest. I love the smell of rotaries in the morning. You know one time, I got to work early, before the rush hour. I walked through the empty carpark, I didn't see one bloody Prius or Golf. And that smell, you know that gasoline smell, the whole carpark, smelled like.... ....speed. One day they're going to ban them. (02-01-2019, 03:10 PM)Dartz Wrote: And it's not Last Order. Which bored the hole off me wandering around itself. I think I finished that but after so many pages of 'Your Princess is in Another Castle' and a book or two of vampires, I just sort of lost interest. Which also suffered from arc fatigue, with the tournament arc running something like 2/3's or 3/4's of the entire 19 volume run.
The new series, Mars Chronical, may not be everyone's cup either, because it goes back and tells about Alita and Erica's childhood together. The tradeoff is that we even eventually learn the terrible truth of Yoko's origins and exactly why Erica turned into a sociopath.
Minor spoiler though... But then, we all knew that Yukito Kishiro had a strange imagination. :V
Eh, (spoilery) super-science is as good an explanation as anything for the various bits of space-magic-dont-examine-this-too-closely in Alita.
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noli esse culus
We just saw the film this morning. It is very definitely worth going to see. Even if it does end on a blatant sequel hook.
And Alita is completely believable on the big screen, even in extreme closeup. There is some amazing digital creation work put into her. Rosa Salazar's performance is top-notch, too.
-- Bob
I have been Roland, Beowulf, Achilles, Gilgamesh, Clark Kent, Mary Sue, DJ Croft, Skysaber. I have been called a hundred names and will be called a thousand more before the sun grows dim and cold....
RE: Battle Angel Alita: A Robert Rodriguez Film
02-17-2019, 08:31 PM (This post was last modified: 02-18-2019, 08:50 PM by Black Aeronaut. Edit Reason: Fixed autocorrect error on the manga-ka's name. Grrrr... )
I’ve heard that the manga-ka, Yukito Kishiro, wholly and completely approves of the film, noting that in addition to all the important plot points, the raison d'etre for the characters is there.
Can’t get much better praise than that in an adaptation.
It's really good. The action is fluid and easy to follow. The drama is there. The Rollerball stuff is a waste of time, but other than that, very good.
I found a trio of YT videos that cover my thoughts on the movie well, and then go beyond them to new ground in places:
First, a two-parter from a long-time Alita fan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ6dBpT4JcE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCiefCg1z-w Note that the first one was from a year ago-ish, so the first three minutes of the second recaps the major points Then, a comparison with Captain Marvel (trailers and hype) that at least seems to be coming at it cold and looking at A:BA only in terms of what appears on the screen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdp8tKCSb7I So, teal deer version, give a female protagonist an interesting story and a personal arc that they can relate to despite the fantastic setting and visuals, and people will love her, regardless of their own gender. Who knew? 
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noli esse culus
Hmmm.... Some hot takes from the first two videos.
I think the point of the characters like Corbyn Dallas and Lilu is to show that even if the rest of the world goes crazy, there's still a few damn decent folks out there that are gonna do The Right Thing(tm), and anyone who gets creeped out... well, it's understandable in a ways, BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENS DAGNABSIT. Yeesh. Besides, she pulled a gun on him the one time he DID try something. She ain't as naive as ya think, bub. TSUGI!!! Regarding the wait and Cameron getting distracted by Avatar? Sorry bub. I don't give two shits about it. What was absolutely CRITICAL was that THIS BE DONE RIGHT. For that, any amount of waiting is fine. In fact, I wouldn't have minded if it never got made at all, if only for the simple worry that it got a similar treatment like the Dragonball movie, or have the story completely repackaged like Ghost in the Shell simply so Americans can associate better with it. Urgh. Fortunately, JC did get it right, and so the wait has been a worthwhile one. We have a movie that, for people who have never heard of the story until now, will hook them and drag them deeper into the BAA/GUNM mythos now that their appetite has been wetted. Alita has officially gone mainstream. For the rest.... Well, I'm gonna have to go see it myself so I can draw my own conclusions. Now if only life would quit screwing me over.
Hey guys?
It's later. And I finally went to see it. I loved the visuals. I loved the physicality of it all. But I feel like they copped out on the story line. Now, I get that sometimes you wanna forge your own path. Really, I do. But if that's your aim, then aping the story line from the only-somewhat-more-obscure OVA is not what you do. I thought that it was just going to be borrowing a few elements from the OVA. Nope. It's more like they used everything from the OVA, and just borrowed elements from the manga to fill in a few gaps. It's honestly disappointing, really, because they've pretty much screwed themselves for the possibility of sequels. Because from this point onward, NOTHING FROM THE MANGA WILL APPLY. They did get the looks right. And they got the basic feel of everything right. The humanity of it all. This is the part the Yukito Kishiro loved. And now, having seen the movie, I think that he said what he said about it because, if nothing else, they at least nailed that part. But I guess I'm nowhere nearly as forgiving. Because if they do any future movies - and they will, because this was hugely successful and they left pretty much as big of a plothook for the next one as you can have without going like this: Anywho, if they do any future movies, it's going to be with a story that is completely new. And there they run the very real risk of losing their way with this.
They're sort of in the position where they can't rely on having a sequel - while at the same time have to leave open the ability. The OVA's did have a self-contained storyline so it can work on its own as needs be.
I'm surprised it's still in Cinema's - it's been a relatively slow burner. I love the smell of rotaries in the morning. You know one time, I got to work early, before the rush hour. I walked through the empty carpark, I didn't see one bloody Prius or Golf. And that smell, you know that gasoline smell, the whole carpark, smelled like.... ....speed. One day they're going to ban them.
If anything is a good sign, it's that it's still profitable enough to be running in cinemas. Big opening numbers get the press coverage, but total earnings are what make up the bottom line.
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noli esse culus
Eh.
Still not terribly happy about it. The Mangas have a huge and expansive story line they could take advantage of, with twists and turns that aren't M. Night Shyamalan BS - they're legitimate plot twists that fit into the grand scheme of things. Plot Twist: Tiphares is not the utopia it was portrayed to be. Plot Twist: Nova is but a pawn himself in the grand scheme of things. Plot Twist: Aga Mbadi is the true Bad Guy here. (Though they don't wast much time in establishing this fact.) Plot Twist: Alita had a major role in the cataclysm from 200 years ago, and this was why she was found in the Scrap Yard. Plot Twist: Arthur, the inventor of Melchizedek - the quantum computer that has been guiding humanity - has been lurking around as a sort of quantum ghost. And there are yet more twists and turns to come as Mars Chronicle moves to its eventual ending. They've pretty much flushed a good deal of that down the toilet now. So we're likely to never see Carula Sanguis and her Stellar Nursery, nor Tohji of the Super Electromagnetic Space Karate school. In fact, given the plot that has been laid out thus far, we probably won't even see Aga Mbadi. Oh, and forget about ever seeing Lou. That's probably never gonna happen because the TUNED story arc is never gonna happen - that completely hinged upon Nova being an exile and Tiphares trying to get him back (really, Aga Mbadi). Which means we're never gonna see Khaos, Den, or the adorably head-strong Koyomi. OH. And the Brain Bio-Chips aren't a thing, either. We know this because Chiren actually had her brain, still! Which completely throws out the story arc of Ketheres and its absolute control system, created by (again!) Aga Mbadi. *Sighs* It has the potential to be good. But what they needed to do was to go out and make something that was COMPLETELY different - much like how the Ghost in the Shell movies have an entirely different story line from the Stand Alone Complex TV series. Same themes, yes, but very VERY different stories. But I guess I'm just disappointed now because it's very likely that we're not gonna see these characters that I've come to like very much. Even the utterly vile and reprehensible Herr Muster was likeable as a character because of how utterly and painfully human he was. |
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