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Alita: Battle Angel
Movie

Alita: Battle Angel

2019 • Unknown

Woke Score
3
out of 10

Plot

When Alita awakens with no memory of who she is in a future world she does not recognize, she is taken in by Ido, a compassionate doctor who realizes that somewhere in this abandoned cyborg shell is the heart and soul of a young woman with an extraordinary past.

Overall Series Review

Alita: Battle Angel presents a visually dense, action-packed science fiction story centered on a young female cyborg’s journey of self-discovery in a dystopian future. The narrative focuses on Alita's strength, skill, and heart as she navigates the criminal, poverty-stricken Iron City below the floating metropolis of Zalem. The film’s core conflict is a clear critique of extreme class inequality and corruption in the ruling elite. The protagonist, Alita, is a formidable warrior, but her character arc is grounded in classic coming-of-age melodrama, involving vulnerability, romantic love, and self-sacrifice, rather than a depiction of an instantly flawless 'Girl Boss' type. While the film was noted for its diverse cast, it also drew controversy for adapting a Japanese manga without a meaningful Asian presence in the lead roles. The story uses overt religious and mythological symbolism, structuring the conflict as a transcendent battle against an objective evil, which grounds the morality in a universal framework.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics4/10

The city in the sky, Zalem, is depicted as an exploitative and wealthy elite class that profits from the labor of the poor, multi-ethnic population in Iron City, framing the narrative around systemic oppression. However, the protagonist’s identity is defined by her merit, memory, and inherent warrior spirit, not by her race or immutable characteristics. Casting was a point of controversy, with the film featuring diverse actors but being criticized for 'whitewashing' characters from its original Japanese manga source material.

Oikophobia7/10

The film's setting is a future society explicitly structured on corruption, class exploitation, and crime, presenting a negative view of the post-war civilization that has developed. The home culture of Iron City is depicted as fundamentally broken and ruled by a distant, hostile elite. The central conflict is a struggle against the established social and political order of the day.

Feminism3/10

Alita is a powerful female warrior whose strength is central to the plot. However, she is portrayed as flawed, immature, and emotionally driven, making decisions based on her love interest and experiencing doubt and vulnerability. She is not an instant 'Mary Sue,' and her willingness to sacrifice her literal heart for a man's dream goes against the typical 'Girl Boss' narrative of prioritizing career/self above all else. Masculine figures like her adoptive father, Ido, are protective and heroic.

LGBTQ+1/10

The narrative does not center on alternative sexualities or gender ideology. The primary romantic relationship in the film is a traditional male-female pairing. The story focuses on normative structures of an adopted family and heterosexual young love, with no political lecturing on sexual or gender identity.

Anti-Theism2/10

The film employs heavy mythological and religious symbolism, particularly Christian and Gnostic archetypes, framing Alita as a savior figure who must fight a clear, objective external evil from the city in the sky. This use of a transcendent struggle against a moral evil, where 'faith' in one's purpose is a source of strength, positions the narrative far from promoting anti-theism or moral relativism.