Plenty of fight in this one

impressive and endearing.

Jamming the plots of four graphic novels into a single movie is a pretty good effort, too, I think, and the screenwriters have done a good job of stitching the story together into something coherent and slick, delivering a few departures from the original story while still remaining loyal to the overall arc.

But nonetheless I still found the ending to be a little bit unsatisfying. This is intended to be the first in a series of Alita movies (surprise, surprise), so an open-ended final act is to be expected. But I admit I did feel kinda cheated by the feeling of incompleteness at the end of two hours of movie here.

Leaving room for the sequel is one thing, but the first movie still deserves to feel like a complete story.

But I’m not too cut up about it because I’ll definitely be excited to watch the sequel.

And the motorball sequences in the film are simply superb. Not only are these digitally animated showcases thrilling to watch, they actually advance the plot as well. And watching Alita tear a bunch of cybernetically enhanced bounty hunters apart while roaring around a massive deadly skate park is just awesome.

Alita: Battle Angel has its failings, too. The love story feels a little forced in its early stages, and much of the sci-fi clout is squandered by the film’s reluctance to engage with the more intellectual musings around humanity. But on balance, I found very little to dislike about it.

(M) is now showing at Village Cinemas and Cmax. Rating: