In what could be called the second half of his career, it usually takes James Cameron half a lifetime to make a movie (I may be exaggerating, but it’s not very long either). The reason is, obviously, that he has set himself to do spectacular impossible challenges that they need to wait for world-changing technology to be invented. This is why it has taken so long to make ‘Avatar’ and even longer its sequels.
But that’s it, ‘Avatar: The Sense of Water’ finally arrived with some promises kept and reactions more or less similar to those that already occurred in 2009. Once we have completed the long wait, it is time to demand an even more urgent sequel. No, it’s not ‘Avatar 3’. He didn’t even direct it himself, even though his DNA is all over the movie. It’s about ‘Alita: Battle Angel’.
Fallen Angel
Available to stream via Disney+, the film presents us with a fascinating cyberpunk dystopia in which the Earth has been divided after a cataclysmic event known as “The Fall”. We find an elevated area for the richest called Zalem, and another for ordinary people as well as dangerous criminals and bounty hunters known as Iron City. And in the midst of all this, a cyborg named Alita appears with incredible combat skills and much to discover about herself.
Taking Yukito Kishiro’s manga as a base, Cameron writes the script together with director Robert Rodriguez, one of those peculiar figures in Hollywood who balance fun movies garbage with family fun movies. Something, on the one hand, not very far from some of Cameron’s first works, which makes him an ideal candidate to face this project that combines these two facets.
There is another obvious connection, in addition to a rather prominent visual sense: the use of 3D and more elaborate visual effects, already used in films like ‘Spy Kids‘ and aftermath. Its cinematographic details shine in the rhythm and finish of the film, with that important dynamism or that use of beast violence that dodges a restrictive qualification for dealing with half-robot people. Few movies suitable for minors have so many dismemberments.
However, it is still a commission that continues to have Cameron’s stamp on all sides. From the efficient and ambitious construction of the world, the intimate details that slip between moments of powerful action, the romantic plot of emotions raised to the maximum level and falls into the tacky (for good, few know how to handle that line as well as James) to the treatment of the female protagonist who is capable of combining determination and strength with vulnerability. There’s also the brushstroke social message (another thing she usually gets away with).
‘Alita: Battle Angel’: Playing Hard
The movie is a delight at all levels, because it is genuine while going through all the basic elements of the script book. It’s emotional even though it’s deliberately turning up the drama. It is spectacular and readable even with an abundance of digital effects. And it’s fun, effectively introducing seemingly crazy elements like the motorball they play.
That is why it is a mystery that a sequel is not something fully guaranteed. A blockbuster with over 500 million dollars raised, acceptable reviews and quite cult by many fans. Only the regime change at Fox explains this lack of a green light for a sequel with a promising foundation thanks to a good ending that concludes the character’s journey well and shows you interesting things to come.