Sci-Fi Action Blockbuster Adaptation On Hulu Is A Modern Butt-Kicking Classic

Alita: Battle Angel is the first movie to try to produce a live-action anime protagonist, and the results are … interesting. Before I go any further, I must warn you: Alita, the movie’s hero, has big eyes. Like, cartoonishly big.

If the thought of watching a photo-realistic character with giant anime eyes is too “uncanny valley” for you, Alita probably isn’t the movie for you. Actually, if Robert Rodriguez’s signature Spy Kids, “70 percent digital, 30 percent real” aesthetic, turns you off you may want to skip this one altogether.

I usually hate “live-action” movies almost entirely shot in front of a green screen. Just commit to a fully animated film at that point. For Alita, though, it works in the film’s favor.

To say that Alita: Battle Angel has a distinctive look is a gross understatement. I don’t know of any other live-action movie that so perfectly captures the look of a manga onscreen. Sure, Alita looks like a cartoon, but for once, that’s a feature and not a bug.

Alita: Battle Angel follows a decommissioned cyborg brought back to life with no memory of who she was. When put in a threatening situation, the cyborg instinctively starts fighting like a trained soldier and, well, you know, the drill. If you’ve ever seen a movie before, you know that Alita’s secret past involves some kind of military/secret agent training, and despite her non-threatening looks, she’s actually a butt-kicking warrior extreme.

Hey, I never said the movie had an original plot. Where Alita: Battle Angel really shines is in its visuals and fight scenes. Robert Rodriguez not only borrowed Alita’s look from the world of anime but also copied the medium’s kinetic action sequences.

The movie is chock-full of crazy, over-the-top cyborg battles that will satisfy any moviegoer ravenous for some bloodless violence.

Alita: Battle Angel is based on an early ’90s cyberpunk manga titled Battle Angel Alita. The title was allegedly switched around because James Cameron only makes movies starting with two letters: either “A” or “T.” Apparently Cameron’s first film Piranha II: The Spawning doesn’t count.

Cameron was such a big fan of Battle Angel Alita that his 2000 sci-fi series Dark Angel was partially inspired by the manga. James planned to direct a film adaptation of Battle Angel Alita in the mid-00s, but his plans hit a self-inflicted setback. Cameron decided to devote the rest of his life to the Avatar franchise instead. As a result, Alita fell by the wayside.

Eventually Robert Rodriguez revealed to Cameron that he was interested in helming Alita: Battle Angel—an idea the overburdened director emphatically accepted. Soon, Rodriguez and Cameron were in full collaboration mode, and the film finally went into production in 2016. That same year, the two filmmakers found their ideal Alita in Rosa Salazar.

The Brand New Cherry Flavor star beat out several other actresses, including Zendaya, for the role. Even now Salazar might not be a household name, but she deserves to be. For Alita, sure, but also for her other projects like Amazon Prime’s criminally underrated Undone.

20th Century Fox released Alita: Battle Angel on February 14, 2019, to mixed reviews. Everyone and their mother praised the movie’s special effects but the story, not so much. The consensus was that the movie was stunning to look at but the plot couldn’t quite keep up with the visuals.

Alita grossed $405 million worldwide against a budget of $170 million. Not bad, but when you factor in advertisements and the like, it’s not great either. Regardless a sequel is rumored to be in development.

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Ultimately, Alita: Battle Angel is a cool mix of insane action, anime visuals, and a somewhat cookie-cutter plot. If your eyeballs are itching for a chance to pop themselves out of your head for a couple of hours, Alita will do the trick. You can stream it right now on Hulu.