Alita: Battle Angel review round-up — James Cameron's cyberpunk action film is a 'whirlpool of CGI'

The initial reviews of James Cameron’s cyberpunk action film  Alita: Battle Angel  are rolling in, and from the looks of it, the movie seems to have garnered largely lukewarm responses from critics. A still from Alita: Battle Angel. Screengrab from YouTube Here is a look what the critics are saying about the film. The Hollywood Reporter:  “A lumpy script, muddled plot, stock characters and tired genre tropes may dampen its commercial breakout potential beyond its core sci-fi action-fantasy demographic… Crucially, Alita contains scant traces of the warmth, wit and punky attitude that characterized most of Cameron’s early work, and which has underscored every previous Rodriguez movie to date. " The Guardian: “Alita: Battle Angel is a film with Imax spectacle and big effects. But for all its scale, it might end up being put on for 13-year-olds as a sleepover entertainment. It doesn’t have the grownup, challenging, complicated ideas of Ghost in the Shell. A vanilla dystopian romance.” Collider: “This movie is filled with grinding gears, saw-blade sparks, and towering robots equipped with impossibly complex weaponry. But the action, which arrives loudly and often, is so coherent, and that makes it consistently thrilling.” Variety: “Directed with budget-splashing brio but little genuine inspiration by Robert Rodriguez, this manga-based cyberpunk origin story is a pretty zappy effects showcase, weighed down by a protracted, soul-challenged Frankenstory that short-circuits every time it gets moving.” comicbook.com: “Alita: Battle Angel comes up a bit short on compelling stakes or character development, thinking that mystery automatically means interest…. It’s not going to be the next Avatar despite being an equally massive idea, but Alita builds its own world for a second adventure which could get audiences more invested.” IGN: “Although Alita: Battle Angel falls short of its intelligent, philosophical source material, it’s still an incredible production. This is a vibrant, detailed world of cybernetic citizens and fascinating locations, simultaneously realistic and completely over the top…Rosa Salazar gives a phenomenal performance. Though assisted by CGI limbs and artificially enhanced eyes, she imbues Alita with warmth and humanity.” Polygon: “Alita: Battle Angel is a whirlpool of CGI, and yet every character and action is easy to track instead of disappearing into a mishmash of shapes and similar colors.” Entertainment Weekly: Calling this movie junk does a disservice to the authenticity of trash. Starring   Rosa Salazar  in the titular role, Alita: The Battle Angel also features Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley and Keean Johnson in supporting parts. The film has been directed by Robert Rodriguez from a screenplay by Cameron and Laeta Kalogridis. Based on Yukito Kishiro’s manga Battle Angel Alita, known as Gunnm in Japan,  Alita: Battle Angel will be released in India on 8 February in India, a week before it hits the US screens.