If you got into Anime in the ‘90s, you were undoubtedly indoctrinated with Yukito Kishiro’s Battle Angel, the bleak cyberpunk love story cribbed in equal parts from Romeo and Juliet, Blade Runner, and The Terminator. Hollywood’s take on this animated classic hits Blu-ray thanks to Robert Rodriguez (Sin City), who took on the project that has been in gestation under James Cameron (The Terminator/Avatar) for almost two decades, who also penned the script. Alita takes the larger than life worlds Cameron is known for and populates them with the charming rogues gallery you’ve come to expect from the Mexican filmmaker. It’s an odd mix for sure, but one that has Rodriguez turning out his best film since Sin City.
Battle Angel takes place in a distant post-apocalyptic future known as “After The Fall,” where all that’s left of civilization is Zalem, the last of the floating cities, and Iron City, the factory city/dumping ground beneath it. One day while scavenging through the trash of Zalem, Dr. Ido (a cyberdoctor played by Christoph Waltz) finds the still living “Core” of a young cyborg girl with amnesia. Once he places her in a new body, Alita (Rosa Salazar) finds herself in an unfamiliar city and time where she falls for local Motorball mechanic Hugo (Keean Johnson), whose dream is to one day make it to Zalem. As Alita begins to piece together her past, we discover that nothing around her is quite as it seems in Iron City or up in Zalem.
Alita’s only fault is that it sticks so very close to the source, with the only alterations being the early introduction of Motorball and the fact we get some much needed exposition sooner. This helps put the world into some much needed context as Rodriguez takes what was originally less than an hour of animation and expands it into a two plus hour feature film. Cameron and Rodriguez have lean into the action, which is their forte, but leave behind some of the subtext of the story that was basically ripped off by Elysium. The original animation used the floating city metaphor to dig a little deeper into the plights of the “haves and the have nots” and how Hugo was ultimately devoured by his greed. Battle Angel is not quite as heavy handed, but that’s because it’s used to set up another film, whereas the original animation felt finite and almost too satisfying with its two episode conclusion.
The disc is filled with a plethora of special features that dissect this property’s journey from manga to screen. This release was reminiscent of the heyday of DVD due to its exhaustive deep dive into Alita’s production from start to finish. And given the film’s been in production for almost two decades, there’s a lot of history. First up was Alita’s World, which fills in the blanks of how her post apocalyptic world came to be, in motion comic form. It’s something I almost thought they would wait to the next film to lay out, but it’s here and a great watch. Next up was Manga to Screen, which gives us the audience the ability to experience the production of the film through manga creator Yukito Kishiro‘s eyes. It begins with an interview with the creator about the birth of the manga as it goes in between interviews with Yukito, Cameron, and Rodriguez about Alita’s lengthy production. We are then treated to such milestones as Yukito visiting the set of this world he created and finally him presenting Cameron and Rodriguez with gifts on the eve of the film’s premiere.
Another great featurette is the 2005 Art Compilation (2019), which is part sizzle reel and part motion comic utilizing the work Cameron had done envisioning the film before he moved on to Avatar. What’s most striking in this piece is how little its changed from 2005 to now and how closely both Rodriguez and Cameron chose to stay to Yukito Kishiro‘s original designs. Being a fan of Cameron and reading he was working on the project back in the day, it’s great to see these actual designs that were created when the project was still in pre-production. I only wish I could just page through them one by one instead of the format they are presented here.
My favorite story that is dropped more than once in these featurettes has to be the story of the genesis of Rodriguez taking over the project from Cameron. Its started out simply enough as Rodriguez inquiring about a project he had heard Cameron was working on and asking if it would ever see the light of day, because he was a fan of both the source and James Cameron. This moment is what allowed Cameron to let go of the property and give the “Rebel without a Crew” a crack at it. When speaking about the film, Rodriguez is very clear to say the film he wanted to make was James Cameron’s take on Battle Angel, not his. There’s a sincerity that any fan could understand; its just not everyone is Robert Rodriguez.
As a fan, I was pleasantly surprised by Alita: Battle Angel, and given the budget behind this film, the decision to dial back the nihilism of the source material makes sense. Rodriguez has also helped inject some much needed humor and heart into Cameron’s prose by making Ido’s and Alita’s father/daughter relationship the glue that holds the messy narrative together. The film is definitely the most paternal and uncreepy Waltz has been in a VERY long time. The film’s reverent approach to the source material, warts and all, is simultaneously the film’s biggest strength and weakness, but its otherworldly visuals are a worthy spectacle that is perfectly captured here in a reference quality transfer. Definitely watch this on the biggest screen and as loud as possible.
Special Features Include:
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