wandercreature

Several years ago in my Blogspot days, I embarked upon a rocky voyage exploring the realm of live action manga adaptation. The Live Action Manga Blues, was something of a refrain that kept cycling through my mind in those days as so many attempts found themselves either at odds with budget, or with the very iconographic nature of manga/anime. A divide between the illustrated and the live cinema medium persisted as tech and production found itself just outside of arm’s reach. And for years the best we could hope for regarding Yukito Kishiro’s science fiction fairy tale we could even remotely hope for, was the middling two-part 1993 OVA, where even animation proved itself too complex to properly capture GUNNM’s singular vision.

That is, until 2019.

And in the decade-plus of hoping and waiting, so much has changed in the popcorn cinema landscape, that even now, it is miraculous that an adaptation as earnestly oddball and authentic as ALITA: Battle Angel can so easily co-exist with the Marvel films of the world. Robert Rodriguez, under the auspices of longtime fan, James Cameron, help deliver a rarity; a live action manga that delicately balances technique and heart in ways so many have failed. Beyond the original comic’s splatter-laden cybermyth, Rodriguez’s take openly embraces the source material’s operatic elements, and somehow finds surprising pools of humanity hidden within.

Set 300 years after “The Fall”, where humanity has gathered in Iron City, a place where the barely hanging together remains co-exist in almost predators versus prey existence beneath the last remaining hovering city, Zalem; a mythological place where only unseen, enigmatically wealthy and powerful reside, often dropping their refuse upon the the poor below. And within this ever growing scrapyard, cybernetic doctor, Dyson Ido (Cristoph Waltz), on a regular scrap run, discovers a mostly intact upper torso and head of a young female cyborg complete with intact brain. Upon bringing her home, and granting her a humanoid doll body, she awakens with endless questions regarding her identity and past. Ido, in hopes of perhaps undertaking the opportunity to live as father figure, restricts her from delving too far from home. But the questions come too fast and too passionate as she makes new friends, is eyed by prospective adversaries, as she comes to realize that her past self was made and trained for combat. All of this while she soon discovers that in order to make ends meet, Ido has been undertaking bounty hunting at night.

Now without going too much further, I need to make an admission here. As a longtime fan of the original manga, my view of what unfolds here does affect my own view of the film and its execution. There are many changes that often feel necessary, and some that feel like concessions to a more mainstream audience. Which isn’t always a negative. Especially when you’re dealing with a wholly unique piece of worldbuilding that only illustration could provide. That, and the original work’s more extreme violence, which was part and parcel with manga of the late 1980s-early 1990s. The changes here to Alita’s world are mostly cosmetic. And if there are any real disadvantages to what the production team have fashioned here, we’ll address shortly.

Before that, let’s make sure to make note of the technical accomplishment of WETA, and all involved for creating a vibrant, often idiosyncratic Iron City and its often machine-hybrid characters. While not as rubble covered and dusty as the comic, this Panama inspired take on Alita’s home is at once unlike so many dystopian nightmares, yet frozen in almost 1990s fashion amber. With alleyways, corners, and churches that almost echo Mexico City, there is a distinctly southern Americas vibe to the world. And nearly everything in it revolves around Motorball, a popular sport that takes roller derby, and melds it with machine mayhem, and detached limbs. A personal favorite concept from the manga, made manifest in sequences that live up to the promise of Kishiro’s panels. Gladiatorial, yet pulsating with static shock.

But Alita’s greatest special effect, is the winning performance of one Rosa Salazar, who grants the title character with the innocence, and unfettered seriousness necessary to make the whole thing work. Early teaser audiences found themselves unsure of how to react to her presentation, but Salazar leans into the protagonist with such an assured hand, that the brain simply accepts it within mere seconds. So many have spent sentences discussing the technical prowess it takes to create such a unique character without going back to what matters, that it works. Almost instantaneously, we believe in her, her questions, her wish to define herself, and the revelations that coalesce. The most amazing achievement of all, is when the magic makers become invisible, and all we are left with are our emotions. And Salazar, makes me a believer with a performance that is top to bottom seamless.

Also worthy of note, is Waltz who despite reservations provides just enough paternal warmth to Ido, who makes a case for comfort versus destiny. He has his reasons for being protective of his young discovery, but can only hold her back for so long. He also provides a bit of vulnerability to the role that goes a long way as his would-be daughter figure ventures further and further into peril. He is only given so much room in what is a pretty large story, that his past with Chiren (Jennifer Connelly)., just grants us enough to justify his arc. Despite this, it largely works. Especially once he begins to come to grips with the reality of his would-be family.

Also game, are Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Idara Victor, and Keean Johnson, who largely provide genre serviceable work surrounded by what must have been quite the complex working environment. And given that much of what they are provided by the screenplay by Cameron and Laeta Kalogridis, is expository, there is only so much to expect from such roles, which plays into my silly side, feeling that a lot of this film feels strangely like a 1990s throwback. There is an aura of that particularly awkward period in fantasy film where the seriousness level can only have so much gravitational sway. Which may explain many early reviews of the film. Mileage may vary here, not unlike Pacific Rim. There’s a tone here that is aware enough of its own sense of the screaming drama, that it consistently dares viewers to succumb to its charms. There are even the occasional Rodriguez spoken-with-an-underline gags that crash with a thud that feel unfurled from another filmic era entirely. This is a gargantuan cult film at heart based upon an often happily strange comic, so anticipate the quirk.

And if anything here hobbles the film for me, it is easily the choice to render the film’s central conceit of economic disparity. While the film gets a great deal right in terms of tone , performance, and astonishing action, the drama pulls back from the manga’s far more dire circumstances which push even moral characters into murky places. A big part of what drives the original work, is the myth of Zalem, what it provides as an alternative to the life in the city below. As vivid and alive as Iron City is, the ability to purchase chocolate on a street corner and ease it is to walk the streets that remain covered in concrete, seems at odds with certain characters’ deep need to ascend. The argument for leaving ground never reaches beyond middling as those who would lie, cheat, and steal to get ahead grow more desperate. The source material’s landscape is so harsh in daylight, that it’s easy to believe that some characters would do anything to escape. Here, it’s simply unsafe to wander at night. It’s a toothless choice that could be contested by many in the real world who see disparity amidst abundance - but it is something that feels a need for greater emphasis. Especially when the final act reaches its emotional apex.

But where it bounces back from this? My goddess, the film is packed to the gills with just enough unfettered imagination, energy, and ultimately heart by way of the father-daughter dynamic between Alita, and Ido, that somehow it becomes this funhouse mirror rendition of a classic family adventure. The choice to pull away from some of the manga’s more horrific elements ends up working in the film’s favor as our leads begin to bond over what seems to be more than a mere daughter, more than a girlfriend, more than a challenge against Iron City’s current status quo. The “order of things” is being shaken up by a nobody, who has nothing but questions about who she is, and what her past was all about. She wasn’t asked to be put in this situation, and isn’t going to take any of this at face value. Which brings us right back to Salazar, and the choice to grant her such an unusual, not quite human look. They agreed early on, that the eyes were everything, and it turns out to be a winning choice. It doesn’t hurt that the action is incredibly imagined and executed. Like an intricate dance performance, where we are invited to witness angles and configurations long thought impossible in film let alone live performance.

And even then, it remains astonishing just how much does work in Alita: Battle Angel. There is so much here that truly does feel like a labor of love. Not unlike another misunderstood child, Speed Racer(2008), Alita, feels like a tribute made with immense reverence and enthusiasm for a work that while wasn’t terribly big in its home of Japan, made an impact with many of us two decades ago as it regaled many with its tale of heroes found in unexpected places and packages. World’s where ruptured metal and jets of plasma were mere analogues for struggles many of us face regularly. While in no way your typical superhero tale, and in no way a perfect film, Alita remains a welcome, effective respite from a genre landscape in dire need of heartfelt weird. It’s a visually, occasionally spiritually jaw-dropping reminder of manga’s power over western comics. Cameron and Rodriguez, have taken nearly twenty years of anticipation and have delivered a fantastical universe with characters who can offer boundless possibilities if the public were so inclined. All this time, my hope was simple; to experience a work that satisfies both my love of the manga medium, and my love of cinema.

Happy to report that despite all odds, Alita largely succeeds.