She looks like a doll, which fits. I'm looking forward to it, because of James Cameron. He's being trying to make Battle Angel for years and years (longer than Avatar). People forget that the series Dark Angel was Cameron's homage to Gunnm when he was still having trouble getting the film made due to rights issues, so this has become Cameron's passion project. He absolutely loves the characters/story.

Also, before anyone complains about white washing. Except for Daisuku Ido, the characters in Battle Angel: Alita aren't supposed to be Asian as the story takes place in the United States (Scrapyard/Tiphares is near Kansas City, Missouri, the Necropolis is Colorado Springs, Colorado, Radio KAOS is at Dallas, Figure's coastal hometown is in Alhambra, and Desty Nova's Granite Inn is built out of a military base – NORAD at Cheyenne Mountain Complex, Colorado). However, even Daisuku Ido wasn't drawn as Asian either .

The 3rd Trailer makes it look better I think. I was so so on the first few, since I saw the Anime years ago I was semi interested. The eyes have grown on me. But I dont think this will do well with general audiences.

Yeah, the 3rd trailer looks quite good. The frustrating thing about making her all CGI is that Rosa Salazar actually looks like Alita. It seems a bit of a waste. They could have had a combination of real and CGI. With CGI just used on the robotic looking parts. Do even her clothes need to be CGI?

@JustinJackFlash said:

Yeah, the 3rd trailer looks quite good. The frustrating thing about making her all CGI is that Rosa Salazar actually looks like Alita. It seems a bit of a waste. They could have had a combination of real and CGI. With CGI just used on the robotic looking parts. Do even her clothes need to be CGI?

Well thats the thing. How much is to much? I always find myself drawn towards films that have a nice mix of CGI and practical effects.

From the early geek reviews, seems like those that saw the anime and read the manga seem to love it, stating the movie barely made any changes to the story. The problem is that those that haven't seen the anime seem to hate it citing the same problems that the anime had: Chiren and Vector were underutilized, they never go to Zalem, the romance between Alita and Hugo was rushed, Alita is too OP, etc. Damned if you do, damned if you don't I guess.

I'm going to go out on a limb here, but, to tag along with something OddRob said above:

I don't think this film is going to do that well on theatrical release, although it might have quite a strong "second life" once released to the home video market.

As an "older" film viewer (40s) who grew up with 1960s - 1980s anime but never got into the newer stuff post 1990, while the trailers to Battle Angel look extremely well-done, to me and I suspect other older viewers who saw the trailers recently in the theater, the film seemed to appear somewhat ghoulish and Tim Burton-esque.

And while that's not always a bad thing, in this case it just felt a little off-putting. Not to mention, are women-- of any age --going to want to see this? Sure, the film certainly seems to have a very strong "girl power" message, but still, I'm doubtful many females are going to be drawn to this particular film's technique and mood. I really think young males from early teens to (mid-30s?) are really going to have to flock to this film to hit it out of the park, and to be honest I'm doubtful if even that will happen. The males I know in their 20s and 30s, at least, don't seem much into this kind of anime.

I could be wrong in my predictions, and this is not meant to be a "hate" thread, but I don't think this film will do very well in its U.S. release. I am more than willing to receive my comeuppance if I am wrong, and you can all come back and tell me so if the film in fact does very well; but I don't think it will; we shall see

@northcoast said:

I'm going to go out on a limb here, but, to tag along with something OddRob said above:

I don't think this film is going to do that well on theatrical release, although it might have quite a strong "second life" once released to the home video market.

As an "older" film viewer (40s) who grew up with 1960s - 1980s anime but never got into the newer stuff post 1990, while the trailers to Battle Angel look extremely well-done, to me and I suspect other older viewers who saw the trailers recently in the theater, the film seemed to appear somewhat ghoulish and Tim Burton-esque.

And while that's not always a bad thing, in this case it just felt a little off-putting. Not to mention, are women-- of any age --going to want to see this? Sure, the film certainly seems to have a very strong "girl power" message, but still, I'm doubtful many females are going to be drawn to this particular film's technique and mood. I really think young males from early teens to (mid-30s?) are really going to have to flock to this film to hit it out of the park, and to be honest I'm doubtful if even that will happen. The males I know in their 20s and 30s, at least, don't seem much into this kind of anime.

I could be wrong in my predictions, and this is not meant to be a "hate" thread, but I don't think this film will do very well in its U.S. release. I am more than willing to receive my comeuppance if I am wrong, and you can all come back and tell me so if the film in fact does very well; but I don't think it will; we shall see

From the reviews, it appears it is very much the same as the manga and anime. Alita wasn't about girl power, it was mainly about people being promised and doing anything to get their dreams without realizing what it is they're going after, thus they can't see that what they have already is better. Think Michael Bay's "The Island" and "Parts: The Clonus Horror" only with cyborgs. There are twists and turns in the manga (and likely the movie) that hard sci-fi buffs would appreciate.

The biggest criticism I heard from anime fans is the movie tries to cram too much material (from the first 4 volumes out of 12 so far as it's still ongoing) into it, which makes the editing seem haphazard and episodic.

@northcoast said:

I'm going to go out on a limb here, but, to tag along with something OddRob said above:

I don't think this film is going to do that well on theatrical release, although it might have quite a strong "second life" once released to the home video market.

I would like the film to do well because I'd quite like to see other anime adaptations get made, especially the likes of Akira. But I agree. I really can't see this film being a hit. I haven't really heard people talk about it much and after Ghost in the Shell's failure this doesn't seem like a trend that is catching on.

Unfortunately general audiences just don't seem interested.

@JustinJackFlash said:

@northcoast said:

I'm going to go out on a limb here, but, to tag along with something OddRob said above:

I don't think this film is going to do that well on theatrical release, although it might have quite a strong "second life" once released to the home video market.

I would like the film to do well because I'd quite like to see other anime adaptations get made, especially the likes of Akira. But I agree. I really can't see this film being a hit. I haven't really heard people talk about it much and after Ghost in the Shell's failure this doesn't seem like a trend that is catching on.

Unfortunately general audiences just don't seem interested.

It seems like its pretty much confirmed from early screenings that the general audience dosent get it. Its sad since Ive heard Rodriguez really seemed to capture the essence of the manga/anime and tried to do it justice, of course minus the PG13 rating since the original material is hardcore R. I think for the anime adaptions to thrive and survive they should start trying it on streaming services.

@OddRob said:

@JustinJackFlash said:

@northcoast said:

I'm going to go out on a limb here, but, to tag along with something OddRob said above:

I don't think this film is going to do that well on theatrical release, although it might have quite a strong "second life" once released to the home video market.

I would like the film to do well because I'd quite like to see other anime adaptations get made, especially the likes of Akira. But I agree. I really can't see this film being a hit. I haven't really heard people talk about it much and after Ghost in the Shell's failure this doesn't seem like a trend that is catching on.

Unfortunately general audiences just don't seem interested.

It seems like its pretty much confirmed from early screenings that the general audience dosent get it. Its sad since Ive heard Rodriguez really seemed to capture the essence of the manga/anime and tried to do it justice, of course minus the PG13 rating since the original material is hardcore R. I think for the anime adaptions to thrive and survive they should start trying it on streaming services.

They do already. They're not very well liked there either from anime and non-anime fans.

As for the PG13, I hear Rodriguez really pushes violence in this movie. Just no Jennifer Connelly nudity to make it R. Her character in the OVA was basically only really there for that.

@OddRob said:

@JustinJackFlash said:

@northcoast said:

I'm going to go out on a limb here, but, to tag along with something OddRob said above:

I don't think this film is going to do that well on theatrical release, although it might have quite a strong "second life" once released to the home video market.

I would like the film to do well because I'd quite like to see other anime adaptations get made, especially the likes of Akira. But I agree. I really can't see this film being a hit. I haven't really heard people talk about it much and after Ghost in the Shell's failure this doesn't seem like a trend that is catching on.

Unfortunately general audiences just don't seem interested.

It seems like its pretty much confirmed from early screenings that the general audience dosent get it. Its sad since Ive heard Rodriguez really seemed to capture the essence of the manga/anime and tried to do it justice, of course minus the PG13 rating since the original material is hardcore R. I think for the anime adaptions to thrive and survive they should start trying it on streaming services.

That would be a good idea. If they do them right. I assume Innovator is talking about Deathnote when he says they haven't been received well. I can't remember any others released on streaming services. But Deathnote was pretty bad so it's no wonder it wasn't liked. I don't think I've enjoyed any American anime adaps so far. So I think the lack of interest stems from the way they're done rather than the source material. Streaming services would leave a wider margin for error.

@JustinJackFlash said:

@OddRob said:

@JustinJackFlash said:

@northcoast said:

I'm going to go out on a limb here, but, to tag along with something OddRob said above:

I don't think this film is going to do that well on theatrical release, although it might have quite a strong "second life" once released to the home video market.

I would like the film to do well because I'd quite like to see other anime adaptations get made, especially the likes of Akira. But I agree. I really can't see this film being a hit. I haven't really heard people talk about it much and after Ghost in the Shell's failure this doesn't seem like a trend that is catching on.

Unfortunately general audiences just don't seem interested.

It seems like its pretty much confirmed from early screenings that the general audience dosent get it. Its sad since Ive heard Rodriguez really seemed to capture the essence of the manga/anime and tried to do it justice, of course minus the PG13 rating since the original material is hardcore R. I think for the anime adaptions to thrive and survive they should start trying it on streaming services.

That would be a good idea. If they do them right. I assume Innovator is talking about Deathnote when he says they haven't been received well. I can't remember any others released on streaming services. But Deathnote was pretty bad so it's no wonder it wasn't liked. I don't think I've enjoyed any American anime adaps so far. So I think the lack of interest stems from the way they're done rather than the source material. Streaming services would leave a wider margin for error.

There's also a live action Full Metal Alchemist on Netflix, along with Bleach and Kakegurui.

But are they Western made or Japanese? That live action Full Metal Alchemist rings a bell but I could of sworn it was Japanese.

@JustinJackFlash said:

But are they Western made or Japanese? That live action Full Metal Alchemist rings a bell but I could of sworn it was Japanese.

They're Japanese made, but Full Metal Alchemist and Bleach specifically were produced by Netflix. Netflix produces the anime Kakegurui, but I'm unsure about the live action version.

@Innovator said:

@JustinJackFlash said:

But are they Western made or Japanese? That live action Full Metal Alchemist rings a bell but I could of sworn it was Japanese.

They're Japanese made, but Full Metal Alchemist and Bleach specifically were produced by Netflix. Netflix produces the anime Kakegurui, but I'm unsure about the live action version.

Ok. I don't really see those reflecting the interests of the kind of wider audiences that the likes of Ghost, Alita or even Deathnote are aiming for. Those sorts of Japanese adaps have been being made for decades. I remember watching the live action Doomed Megalopolis when I was a kid. And they will continue to be made. Western adaps are a very different story.

So I do still think Netflix could be a great testing ground for Western adaps. I really think that the failure of Deathnote was because it should have been a tv show and they tried to squeeze everything into an hour and a half.