Alita: Battle Angel

James Cameron originally intended to write and direct an adaptation of Yukito Kishiro’s 1990s cyberpunk manga series Gunnm, but the project went on the backburner when Cameron turned his attention to Avatar. Eventually, Robert Rodriguez took over directing chores on this sci-fi action/fantasy film (Cameron co-wrote the script) that features sumptuous visual effects courtesy of Peter Jackson’s Weta Digital. Set in the dystopian future, circa 2563, on the dusty streets of Iron City, which is located under the flying city of Zalem, the story revolves around Alita (Rosa Salazar), a starkly stylized cyborg with oversized eyes, a human brain, and a tiny-waisted, Barbie-doll-shaped body. Like Dr. Frankenstein’s monster, Alita was assembled by Dr. Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz) from discarded parts of half-human cyborgs. Alita gradually recalls battle-scarred memories, turning her into a ferocious teenager with instinctive combat skills, which she channels into Motorball, a skull-cracking, gladiatorial sport combining rollerblading and basketball. Alita finds romance with Hugo (Keean Johnson), a blandly generic, human robo-junk dealer. And the requisite villainy is supplied by Ido’s arrogant ex-wife (Jennifer Connelly) and her sinister, manipulative sports mogul/lover (Mahershala Ali), along with the threat of monstrous Grewishka (Jackie Earle Haley). The filmmakers inject fascinating multicultural aspects, such as Iron City’s street signs being in Spanish/English, and a street musician who plays a double guitar (with three arms). But the ponderous script is exposition-heavy, uneven, and devoid of humor, clunking toward an unsatisfying cliffhanger climax that is a blatant set-up for franchise sequels. Optional. (S. Granger)