Tunde Glover

For anyone who read the comics, this is a love-letter. The world realised here is more vivid and colourful than what my imagination produced while ready those black and white pages. As a stand-alone movie this is truly great. In a time when almost every new piece of sci-fi entertainment is weak, hollow, and devoid of any character. Alita is a joy to watch. She's so full of life, personality, and strength, yet miraculously without all the pretension and one dimensionality of her modern day counterparts. She runs the gamut of emotions and is so convincing as a character, that empathy with her is effortless. You can really see the influence and energy of the charmingly charismatic Rosa Salazar shining through. Her 'Id' is unmistakeable here, but importantly it doesn't get in the way of who Alita is, and ultimately (as a reader of the source) always was. I don't know much about acting or writing but it 'feels' like masterful work. Which I guess is the point. Robert Rodriguez, and James Cameron have done great work here. In an age where people can't seem to make anything new, and even the copies and regurgitations of past greatness are beyond soulless. Lacking the essence and appreciation of what made these past works good in the first place, James Cameron reminds everyone that he's still 'the master' here and not struck by this modern day illness that prevents people from making anything even remotely good any more. Simply because of James Cameron, I eagerly await Avatar 2. It's probably the 'only' sci-fi/fantasy movie I can guarantee that will matter enough for me to actually go to the big screen to see. Keep fighting off this illness, man. You're pretty much the only one left...