Alita: Battle Angel (2019)

Nordine calls the film Rodriguez’s best since Sin City and says it lives up to its potential while leaving viewers wanting more. He especially praises Rosa Salazar’s expressive, physically impressive motion-capture performance as Alita.

Jenkins finds the film an infectiously fun, charming adventure epic. He singles out the superb lead performance for praise.

Turan finds the familiar sci-fi adventure surprisingly enjoyable, thanks to its energy, sentiment and technical ingenuity. He especially praises Rosa Salazar’s expressive performance and Weta Digital’s convincing cyborg effects.

Hassenger finds the film a lot of fun, despite an unconvincing romance and an awkward sequel-bait ending. He particularly praises the inventive, fluidly shot action, especially Alita’s fights and the kinetic motorball scenes.

Yoshida finds the film ungainly and hokey but engaging and unexpectedly charming. She singles out Rosa Salazar’s magnetic performance and expressive big eyes as what makes it work.

The page identifies this as a review, but its verdict is unavailable in the paywalled text. The standfirst says the filmmakers bring the graphic novels to life, without revealing what the critic singles out.

Cole finds the film an entertaining and unusually focused franchise starter, despite a weak romance and underexamined conflict. He especially praises the action’s choreography and coherent direction.

The review finds the film impressive as spectacle but uneven overall. It praises the action while faulting its family, romance, and machine-soul themes.

The review finds the film entertaining but overly familiar, with its final act undermined by sloppy plotting. It praises Rodriguez’s slick, inventive action and Alita’s striking visual realization.

The critic finds the film visually epic but monotonous, less than the sum of its parts. The slick visuals are praised, while the film’s enervating monotony is the main complaint.

The review finds the film a tonally confused, hard-to-care-about start for a hoped-for franchise. It praises the impressive visual effects and bursts of action, but says clunky dialogue and weak character work undermine them.

Dargis’s review is negative about the film’s execution. She singles out its computer-generated visuals as a weakness.

Bradshaw finds the film an oddly tame, vanilla dystopian romance that lacks the complexity of Ghost in the Shell. He praises Mahershala Ali’s bad-guy aplomb, while finding his charisma underused.

The critic finds the film underwhelming, with a muddled plot and tired genre conventions preventing it from taking flight. The visual effects and richly designed Iron City provide early spectacle, but the story and romance falter in the second half.

Lodge finds the film muddled and emotionally thin, despite its energetic effects spectacle. He especially praises the motorball sequences while criticizing the story’s scattered, unclear direction.

The critic’s verdict is negative, arguing that the film lacks humanity. The review singles out its manga-inspired cyborg story as a glittering CGI mishmash.

Brody finds the film’s inventive world-building undermined by sentimental romance and formulaic, reactionary plotting. He praises the detailed design and clarity of Iron City, but faults the story for wasting those strengths.

The critic finds the film a strange, special, ambitious sci-fi adventure whose earnestness helps its shortcomings recede. They praise Alita’s detailed visual creation and the film’s imaginative, expansive world, while noting underdeveloped subplots.

The review calls the film a solid, visually stunning blockbuster and a breakthrough for Hollywood anime adaptations, despite a simple, overstuffed story. It praises the assured, dazzling fight sequences and Rosa Salazar’s expressive performance as Alita.

The URL identifies this as a review, but the article itself is inaccessible. Its verdict and any specific praise or criticism cannot be determined from the available page.

Kozak finds the film frequently fun and visually pleasing, but derivative and ultimately forgettable. He praises the visceral, surprisingly graphic action while criticizing Alita’s distracting CG face.

The review finds the film’s plot sluggish despite its entertaining action. It praises the controlled, energetic fight scenes and Rosa Salazar’s performance.

The critic finds the film visually impressive but tonally and narratively confused. The cyborg action earns praise, while the central romance and Alita’s uncanny appearance are singled out as failures.

The critic finds the film a muddled, frustrating attempt to set up a franchise. They praise Rosa Salazar for bringing life and conviction to Alita.

The critic finds the film rushed, unfocused, and tonally erratic, with too many unresolved plot strands. The pulpy, acrobatic action sequences are singled out as an enjoyable bright spot.