Before the movie was released, I deliberately read the original manga "Gun Dream" by Yukito Shimoki, so that during the viewing process, I kept "looking for differences".
On the whole, the movie "Alita: Battle Angel" only intercepted several chapters of the comics, adjusted some of the story lines, and added some new characters.
However, in the process of adapting the original work, the film lost the core of "Gun Dream". Therefore, if you don't know manga, you will feel that the plot of the movie is too playful.
I remember hearing two people chatting next to me after watching the movie. One said, "The special effects of the movie are really well done, but I don't quite understand what I want to express." Then another person seemed to be a fan of the original book, and began to popularize the worldview of "Gun Dream" with him, and also mentioned how long and how much Cameron spent to make special effects blablabla
If all movies are obliged to know the background story, then "Dream Chasing Showbiz" can also get full marks. The process of filming, showing, and whitewashing is also quite hard.
And shouldn't the core part of a movie be the story?
In fact, Yukito Mucheng's original work is still very attractive. The world of cyberpunk is full of human-machine hybrids. As long as the brain is there, the consciousness is there.
In order to win the ticket to the "City of the Sky", some people snatch and sell organs, some people don't hesitate to disassemble themselves into eight pieces, and some people carry out various offensive transformations on their bodies, making people not like ghosts and ghosts.
Our protagonist Alita, as an amnesiac, has been thinking about philosophical propositions, "where to come from, where to go, and the meaning of existence" from the moment she wakes up.
However, the film is a mere formality and does not show the depth that the original should have.
The one that made him uncomfortable the most was Gruishka. In the movie, he was simply a brainless muscular man, without any ideas, and let others command him, but he in the original work was very sympathetic.
In the comics, he was thrown into the sewers as soon as he was born, and survived by eating waste, belonging to a type of people forgotten by the world.
Therefore, when he found a chance to return to the ground, he destroyed it, trying to leave his mark on the world. And the fighting genius Alita gave him a sense of existence. In a sense, his wish was fulfilled. Therefore, after the war, he died in peace.
At this moment, it's hard not to think of the scene in "Blade Runner 2049" where "K", played by Commander Gao, smiles to his death in the snow after completing his mission.
Before the end came, they all found the meaning of their existence.
Hugo, in the movie, is another character who makes himself uncomfortable. In the original work, he is also a tragic character.
Hugo's brother built a hot air balloon and wanted to go to the "City in the Sky". Under the pressure of the no-fly order, his brother's actions were betrayed by his sister-in-law, which also led to the direct death of his brother.
Although Hugo was fortunate enough to survive, he had a stubborn desire to go to the "City in the Sky". An empty promise made by others allowed him to start a business of illegally buying and selling organs, and the outcome was doomed.
In fact, the tragic stories between people in "Gun Dream" all originate from the harsh living environment of the Iron City. However, the performance in the movie did not give him a reason to leave. The combination of various warm colors seemed very interesting.
To be honest, I still don’t like cyberpunk very much. This kind of stylization that relies on visuals is very surprising when it is interpreted in comics and movies. In terms of thinking, the depth is indeed more than enough, but the breadth is not enough.
They always ask a question, revealing a pessimistic apocalyptic message, although they also find some directions to work towards, such as "dream", "new life" and so on.
However, no solution was given, and the emotions turned into helplessness in the end.
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