電影《艾莉塔：戰鬥天使》影評：Another Shell without A Soul

I’ve never read the manga series, upon which this movie is based. So this review is only focused on the movie itself with disregard to its source material, which I heard to be phenomenal.

From the hype that came before the movie’s release, I gathered two things by briefly skimming some headlines: its special effects were badass and groundbreaking, and the action sequences were like nothing you had ever seen before. No surprise there knowing that James Cameron was the producer.

And it was true that some pretty new and amazing technology was involved in creating the heroine Alita, since when you were watching the movie, the emotions that came through her eyes pulled your heartstring all the time. And the action sequences were exciting to watch too, and much better done than many of the other CG-infested movies. But personally, I preferred the Netflix’s Daredevil action style.

And then, to the story itself. Akira Kurosawa is my favorite director of all time, and Mr. Kurosawa believed that the screenplay is the most important thing of a movie, and if there isn’t a good story, there isn’t a good movie, period. And I also believe in this statement. And based on my 20 years of movie-watching experience, I must say that it is indeed the truth that without a good story to serve as the soul, there wouldn’t be a good movie, no matter if you get Stanley Kubrick and an all-star cast, plus all the cutting-edge technologies and the most fancy production design. Because an empty shell will always remain an empty shell without a soul to back it up from the inside.

And in the case of Alita: Battle Angel, its story-telling level is childish at best -- an innocent fairy-tale for kids and family-friendly occasions in the disguise of cyberpunk elements and dystopian themes. Its YA drama was played out in such an obvious and shallow fashion that it was almost embarrassing to watch.

But what can you say? This is Hollywood, and nowadays money walks and bullshit talks. Who cares about artistic integrity when you can make a shit load of money just by telling a shit story? And to be honest, this isn’t even a good story for children, because it involved no thinking and subtlety. Just a brainless CG orgy for the eyes.