Thankfully, the movie has those things to fall back on, because the main story is extremely muddled. Still, Cameron, Rodriguez, and co-writer Laeta Kalogridis make Alita into an elite action hero, giving her a relatable backstory and skills that would be the envy of any other similar character. That includes Alita herself, although due to her overlarge eyes and slightly less than human skin, she never quite gets out of the uncanny valley. From the city landscapes to the plethora of mechanical bodies to the high-speed action of Motorball, the CGI in the film is nearly perfect and keeps it watchable throughout. Rodriguez has long been at home in the digital world, setting the Spy Kids series and Sin City series entirely in that domain, and that experience shows here. The film’s biggest success is immersing the audience in the world the humans and cyborgs inhabit.

Ido’s ex-wife, whose intentions are not always good. But she must also deal with the overarching specter of Vector (Mahershala Ali), who runs the violent sport known as Motorball, a group of bounty hunters, and Chiren (Jennifer Connelly), Dr. Ido and a budding relationship with Hugo (Keean Johnson). Using a custom body he had built years earlier, he brings her back to life and names her Alita (Rosa Salazar).Īlita has no memory of her previous life, but she soon discovers some extraordinary abilities thanks to Dr.

Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz), a human cyberphysician who helps create and repair cyborgs, discovers the remains of a barely living female cyborg in a junkyard. Instead, Robert Rodriguez serves as director and co-writer for the epic action movie, set in the late 26th century when most people live in the overcrowded Iron City, hoping to one day get to the sky city overhead known as Zalem. One of his other long-gestating ideas - Alita: Battle Angel, the adaptation of the Japanese manga Battle Angel Alita - is now seeing the light of day, though with Cameron as only co-writer and producer. He’s gone down the rabbit hole of that world, long promising sequels that have yet to materialize. Since he made Titanic in 1997, he has released exactly one other narrative feature film, 2009’s Avatar. Getting a new movie involving James Cameron is a rare thing these days.

Alicia battle angel