What I’m watching: a science fiction action film that fails to satisfy

Date: 2/19/2019

What I’m watching: the newest film from director Robert Rodriguez

In theaters: “Alita Battle Angel”

I’m a huge fan of the innovative works of director Robert Rodriguez. Since his first film “El Mariachi” made very cheaply in 1992, he has shown an interest in telling unusual stories and exhibiting a keen interest in motion picture technology and how it can make a particular style possible.

This is certainly on display in films such as “Once Upon a Time in Mexico,” “Sin City,” and “Planet Terror.”

In his latest effort, a Japanese manga – graphic novel – provided the inspiration for a science fiction adventure film.

The good news about “Alita” is that it has a fine cast, a well-realized vision of a future and superb computer-generation effects. The bad news is that it gave me the vague feeling I had seen parts of this film before.

“Alita” tells the story of Dr. Ido (Christoph Waltz) who is an expert in cybernetics. He discovers in the trash heap beneath the floating city where the elite live, part of a cyborg – an augmented human. This is no ordinary cyborg as he quickly discovers, but when he revives her she has no knowledge of who she is or how she came to be there.

For Ido, this is a chance to be a father again. For Alita is a lease on a new life. Their relationship is soon challenged by the fact that Ido is actually a bounty hunter by night and that Alita seems to be morphing from a 14 year-old to an 18 year-old and is falling in love in 48 hours or so.

There is an awful lot going on in this film and that’s only two of the major plotlines, with two more playing a significant role: Alita becomes a star in “Motorball” and she starts a fight against the master of the city, the mysterious Nova.

So, this is another film in which the known world is impoverished after a war and the elite literally live above the muck and pain. I realized afterwards the theme rang a bell. Do you recall the 2013 film “Elysium” with Matt Damon?

Another key aspect of the film is scenes that depict the game of “Motorball,” which is really another name for “Rollerball” – the subject of two previous films.

The look of the film, the idea of a floating city above a lawless and dirty city and the presence of a deadly game as a important part of society all make “Alita” feel less than original. The subject of the humanity of at least partly artificial life forms is also something that has been a recurring theme of films such as “Blade Runner,” “Robocop” and “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”

That’s my problem with the film. Co-written by James Cameron, “Alita” seems to be a retread that makes up for a lack of originality with a heck of a lot of plot. I expected better filmmaking than that.

What also cheesed a bit was the fact the film is clearly the first part of series. The way the film ends points virtually and actually to a second part of the story.

This seems to be an interesting trend in Hollywood films: make a movie whose story screams there will be a sequel, but don’t market the film as such. I’m not sure if the studio brass are concerned this might turn off audiences if they announce a movie is actually a “Part One” or if they are hedging their bets about the box office returns justifying a second film.

I did watch this film in 3-D, as that was the screening at the time I needed to go. In all honesty, the addition of 3-D only contributed to a more expensive ticket price. From the artistic perspective it really didn’t do anything impressive – yes, stuff comes at you, but 3-D movies have been doing that since the 1950s.

I really wanted this film to work, but it’s not the story-telling event it should have been.