First and foremost, thank you to 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment for the opportunity to review ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL!
Today is my daughter’s birthday! She’s turning 16-years old. The one thing that she and I do that should be lasting memory together, if she remembers nothing else, we watch movies together ALL THE TIME! From the moment I sent her a picture of the cover, she wanted more details on what the movie was about. The one question that was asked repeatedly throughout the movie by my daughter: is Alita animated or not?
Alita: Battle Angel does a REALLY GREAT JOB of setting up the world that they are living in. The year is 2563, after surviving “The Fall” Dr. Ido (Christoph Waltz) going through a junkyard, finds a viable piece of a survivor. He takes said piece to his lab/doctor’s office and puts it together with a body that had a specific user that it was built for, his daughter, who was killed. When Alita (Rosa Salazar) awakens for the first time in her new body, she has trouble walking but picks it up rather quickly. Alita starts asking questions about who she is, having trouble remembering anything from her previous life. She goes outside and wanders like a typical teenager would. Meeting (Keean Johnson) and his friends, finding out what chocolate tastes like and learning about Motorball. During one of the times she is wandering around, she encounters Ido’s ex-wife, Chiren (Jennifer Connelly) who notices the body she’s using as her own. Chrien is a scientist and does basically the same sort of work that Ido does, but works for Vector (Mahershala Ali) and subsequently Nova (Edward Norton). Alita comes to find out the origins of the name given to her by Ido as the name of his daughter who was killed, along with the body that was intended for her. One of the nights, Alita hears noise and follows Dr. Ido and finds out he leads a double life, the second part being a hunter warrior. During the encounter where she finds Ido living the hunter warrior’s life, she helps fight off Nyssiana (Eiza Gonzalez) and a couple of other deadly cyborgs. During the fighting, Alita has flashbacks to her former life, where she is trained in a fighting styled named “Panzer Kunst.” She also remembers being called “99.”
Chaos ensues when Chiren learns of her capabilities from having to repair one of the three deadly cyborgs named Grewishka (Jackie Earle Haley). Nova contacts Chiren through Vector’s body and notifies her, if she can capture or kill Alita that there is a place for her in Zalem waiting. Chiren upgrades Grewishka with parts taken from other deadly cyborgs, that Hugo comes into possession of forcefully.Hugo and his friends take Alita out of the city and into the forest. Here, she encounters a ship from the war. She’s drawn to it. She goes into the lake and into the ship where she finds a Berserker warrior body. She brings the body with her and to Dr. Ido and asks him to change her to this body because she feels it belongs to her and vice versa. Ido refuses.
In her rebelliousness, Alita goes to get licensed to become a hunter warrior. She and Hugo head to the Kansas club, where fellow hunter warriors hang out. She challenges them to help her with her cause. They laugh and find humor that she is so small and has no kill history. There’s an epic battle that takes place and shows the ferocity that’s contained in Alita and more of her past life comes to the forefront. Grewishka makes an appearance at the end of the battle among the hunter killers. He attacks Alita with his newly acquired weaponry. She makes a mistake and follows him to the underground where she is unfamiliar with the territory. He injures her severely. Leaving Ido no choice but to transfer her to the Berserker body. The movie takes a turn with Alita in the new Berserker body. The Motorball events are some of the best parts of the movie along with the fight scenes.
The only issue I had with the movie, the same issue my daughter had, is basically the way the movie ends. I needed, or wanted, more of a payoff. I wanted to see Alita go to Zalem and take on Nova. The special effects are top notch, especially Alita’s eyes. Alita: Battle Angel is DEFINITELY worth picking up and adding to your collection, especially if you’re a Sci-Fi fan! The father/daughter dynamic between Dr. Ido and Alita makes this movie hit close to home, having a teenage daughter, also seeing the rebellious dynamic between the daughter in this instance.
Bonus Features:
There are a LOT of bonus features, depending on what version you get. With the Blu-Ray, there are 15+ bonus features, including featurettes and a Q&A with Robert Rodriguez and James Cameron and also a 10-minute cooking course with Rodriguez on how to create the delicious chocolate like in the movie.
RATING: B++ (would have been an A with a little better ending)
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment’s home release information (4K Ultra HD/Blu-Ray 3D/Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital HD) for ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL!
From Academy Award winners James Cameron & Jon Landau, and visionary filmmaker Robert Rodriguez comes ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, an epic adventure of hope and empowerment. When Alita (Rosa Salazar) awakens with no memory of who she is in a future world she does not recognize, she is taken in by Ido (Christoph Waltz), a compassionate doctor who realizes that somewhere in this discarded cyborg shell is the heart and soul of a young woman with an extraordinary past. When deadly and corrupt forces come after Alita, she discovers a clue to her past – she has unique fighting abilities that those in power will stop at nothing to control. If she can stay out of their grasp, she could be the key to saving her friends, her family and the world she’s grown to love.
The action-packed film, also starring Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley, and Keenan Johnson has scored $405 million at the global box-office.
Now with hours of extensive special features the home entertainment release takes you behind-the-scenes with James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez to see the journey from Manga to Screen and what it took to bring Alita to life. Plus, go deeper into the universe of ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, where you’ll learn about the past, the characters of the present, and the thrilling sport of Motorball.
Cast:
Jennifer Connelly, Eiza Gonzalez, Rosa Salazar, Michelle Rodriguez, Christoph Waltz, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeff Fahey, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Casper Van Dien, Lana Condor, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Marko Zaror, Elle LaMont, Idara Victor,
Synopsis:
From visionary filmmakers James Cameron (AVATAR) and Robert Rodriguez (SIN CITY), comes ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, an epic adventure of hope and empowerment. When Alita (Rosa Salazar) awakens with no memory of who she is in a future world she does not recognize, she is taken in by Ido (Christoph Waltz), a compassionate doctor who realizes that somewhere in this abandoned cyborg shell is the heart and soul of a young woman with an extraordinary past. As Alita learns to navigate her new life and the treacherous streets of Iron City, Ido tries to shield her from her mysterious history while her street-smart new friend Hugo (KeeanJohnson) offers instead to help trigger her memories. But it is only when the deadly and corrupt forces that run the city come after Alita that she discovers a clue to her past – she has unique fighting abilities that those in power will stop at nothing to control. If she can stay out of their grasp, she could be the key to saving her friends, her family and the world she’s grown to love.
Blu-ray™ Special Features
- Alita’s World – get a deeper look into the world of Alita: Battle Angel with these dynamic motion comics.
- The Fall – a look back at the terrible war that almost destroyed two planets and set the stage for the cyborg warrior Alita’s return 300 years later.
- Iron City – Hugo gives a guided tour of the Iron City he knows, showing off its dark corners and broken-down neighborhoods.
- What it Means to be a Cyborg – hunter-warrior Zapan tracks his mark across Iron City while musing about what it means to be a cyborg.
- Rules of the Game – A high-octane “crash course” in Motorball, introducing the rules, game-play, and the top-ranked players and their arsenal of weapons.
- From Manga to Screen – a behind-the-scenes look into the origins of Yukito Kishiro’s beloved manga, “Gunnm,” and the long road to bring it to life on the big screen.
- Evolution of Alita – how Alita was brought to life, from the casting of Rosa Salazar, to performance capture, and final VFX by WETA Digital.
- Motorball – go inside Iron City’s favorite pastime, from the origins and evolution of the sport, to rules on how the game is played.
- James Cameron, Robert Rodriguez and cast Q&A moderated by Jon Landau.
- Robert Rodriguez’s 10 Minute Cooking School: Chocolate – a cooking lesson on how to make delicious chocolate like that seen in the movie.
- 2005 Art Compilation (2019) – James Cameron’s original compilation of concept art for the then-titled “Battle Angel: Alita,” presented with new voiceover and music.
- Scene Deconstruction – view three different stages of the production – the original live action performance capture, the animation stage, and the final Weta VFX from four different scenes
- I Don’t Even Know My Own Name
- Just an Insignificant Girl
- I’m a Warrior Aren’t I?
- Kansas Bar
DVD Special Features
- Alita’s World – get a deeper look into the world of Alita: Battle Angel with these dynamic motion comics.
- The Fall – a look back at the terrible war that almost destroyed two planets and set the stage for the cyborg warrior Alita’s return 300 years later.
- Iron City – Hugo gives a guided tour of the Iron City he knows, showing off its dark corners and broken-down neighborhoods.
- What it Means to be a Cyborg – hunter-warrior Zapan tracks his mark across Iron City while musing about what it means to be a cyborg.
- Rules of the Game – A high-octane “crash course” in Motorball, introducing the rules, game-play, and the top-ranked players and their arsenal of weapons.
DVD Special Features – continued
- From Manga to Screen – a behind-the-scenes look into the origins of Yukito Kishiro’s beloved manga, “Gunnm,” and the long road to bring it to life on the big screen.
Digital Special Features
- Alita’s World – get a deeper look into the world of Alita: Battle Angel with these dynamic motion comics.
- The Fall – a look back at the terrible war that almost destroyed two planets and set the stage for the cyborg warrior Alita’s return 300 years later.
- Iron City – Hugo gives a guided tour of the Iron City he knows, showing off its dark corners and broken-down neighborhoods.
- What it Means to be a Cyborg – hunter-warrior Zapan tracks his mark across Iron City while musing about what it means to be a cyborg.
- Rules of the Game – A high-octane “crash course” in Motorball, introducing the rules, game-play, and the top-ranked players and their arsenal of weapons.
- From Manga to Screen – a behind-the-scenes look into the origins of Yukito Kishiro’s beloved manga, “Gunnm,” and the long road to bring it to life on the big screen.
- Evolution of Alita – how Alita was brought to life, from the casting of Rosa Salazar, to performance capture, and final VFX by WETA Digital.
- Motorball – go inside Iron City’s favorite pastime, from the origins and evolution of the sport, to rules on how the game is played.
- Musical Themes – Composer Tom Holkenborg (aka Junkie XL) offers an in-depth examination of the key musical themes of his Alita: Battle Angel score.
- Robert Rodriguez’s 10 Minute Cooking School: Chocolate – a cooking lesson on how to make delicious chocolate like that seen in the movie.
- Streets of Iron City – Director Robert Rodriguez gives a set tour of Iron City, with cast and crew insights, and a behind-the-scenes look at the city’s creation.
- Iron City
- Scrapyard
- Ido’s Clinic
- Cathedral
- Ambush Alley
- Vector’s Office and the Factory
- Kansas Bar
- Allies and Adversaries – meet the allies and adversaries that Alita encounters in Iron City.
- Zapan
- Dr. Dyson Ido
- Grewishka
- Nyssiana
- Romo
- McTeague
- Vector
- Chiren
- Hugo
- James Cameron, Robert Rodriguez and cast Q&A, moderated by producer Jon Landau.
- Production Materials – explore the initial vision for the movie with art reels from 2005 and 2016.
- 2005 Art Compilation (2019) – James Cameron’s original compilation of concept art for the then-titled “Battle Angel: Alita,” presented with new voiceover and music.
- 2016 Art Reel – Lightstorm Entertainment and Robert Rodriguez’s 2016 compilation of concept art reflecting the design of the final film.
- Scene Deconstruction – view three different stages of the production – the original live action performance capture, the animation stage, and the final Weta VFX cut from four different scenes
- I Don’t Even Know My Own Name
- Just an Insignificant Girl
- I’m a Warrior Aren’t I?
- Kansas Bar
- Theatrical Trailers
- Alita – Official Trailer
- Alita – Battle Ready Trailer
Alita: Battle Angel is currently available 4K Ultra HD/Blu-Ray 3D/Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital HD TODAY! Order info for Best Buy and Amazon is listed below:
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