The filmmaking trio that came together to make Alita: Battle Angel could not have more creative juices flowing if they tried—James Cameron, Jon Landau and Robert Rodriguez. Cameron, of Terminator, True Lies, Titanic and of course Avatar fame, takes on the producing and co-screenwriter duties. Landau, produced of a few of Cameron’s flicks (such as Titanic and Avatar), but he’s also the producer behind films as varied as Dick Tracy and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. Then there’s Rodriguez, who is behind the camera as director. Oh, you might remember him from a few flicks such as Sin City, the Spy Kids series, From Dusk to Dawn and Desperado.
The wickedly original story is based on the graphic novel Gunnm from Yukito Kishiro chronicles a not-so-distant future where Ido (Christoph Waltz), a doctor who discovers a cyborg shell of a child and decides to fix her up and raise her practically as his own daughter. Alita (Rosa Salazar) has no memory of her past but has a burning curiosity about her programmed mind and her resurrected body. Yes, she was discarded by the mothership that sits above this futuristic city. But when those in power see what she is capable of doing down on Earth, some seriously bad guys and girls will come looking for her and the peace that she knew is on the verge of being a thing of the past.
One of those who discovers the young Alita is Jennifer Connelly’s Chiren, who may or may not work for Vector (two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali). Oh, but she is interested, and it is that curiosity that befits someone like Alita who herself is trying to figure out exactly who she is, and at least who she was.
When the film hit theaters, The Movie Mensch had an absolute blast (check out our theatrical Alita: Battle Angel review. The cast is top notch and Salazar (The Maze Runner series) delivers a career-making performance. The action sequences are utterly mind-blowing, the production design is literally out of this world and script, direction and everyone working behind the camera has done everything in their power to deliver something that audiences sick of sequels, remakes and comic book movies can embrace. They did, to the tune of $405 million internationally at the box office.
The bonus features are a cinema appreciator’s dream. Hours of extras include never-before-seen footage and insight into the making of this science fiction thrill ride that will have audiences nodding their head with affirmation-spurring joy.
For those looking for a look into the making of Alita: Battle Angel, first load up From Manga to Screen. Since it all begins and ends with a screenplay, this featurette is a great place to start as it focuses on the adaptive process of bringing a beloved Magna graphic novel to life via a compelling screenplay which gave way to a blast of a thrill ride movie. At just over 20 minutes, it goes deep too!
Alita’s World takes the animated route to provide some fascinating insight into numerous parts of the story itself and the characters who inhabit this world. Some of these include The Fall, What it Means to be a Cyborg and Iron City. For me, the highlight must be Evolution of Alita which takes the most insightful, entertaining and enlightening look at the titular character and takes its time (almost 20 minutes!) in laying out what it is that makes Alita tick and also (and most importantly) what makes her so special.
There’s a game at the heart of Battle Angel that provides a nice forum for folks in this science fiction world to have some fun and let out a little stress living vicariously through the players. Motorball takes us inside the violent game at the heart of this tale and was such a rich exploration that it made me want to go back through the film itself and revisit all the Motorball scenes with a fresh appreciation for what it took to make them happen.
Of course, the draw of Cameron and Rodriguez was one of the many reasons that people were interested in Alita: Battle Angel. As such, you do not want to miss an almost half-hour long Q&A with the writer-producer and director (along with stars Salazar, Waltz and Connelly) that occurred in London after a theatrical screening. London Screening Q & A clocks in at 26:38 and is such fun to experience, it will literally end before you’re ready for it to!
Scene Deconstruction serves as the most unique of ways to have a viewer-driven exploration of four integral scenes from the flick. It allows you to use color-coded buttons on your DVD/Blu-Ray player to move through the rendering process of the following quartet of sizzling scenes: I Don’t Even Know My Name, Just an Insignificant Girl, I’m a Warrior, Aren’t I? and Kansas Bar.
Given Alita’s roots in the comic landscape, Alita’s World is yet another wildly original means to give viewers insight into the making of the movie through extraordinary electric motion comics.
Film Grade: A-
Bonus Features: A