Rating: 7.0/10, 3.5/5
It's not so much an adaptation of the first Gunmeng manga, but rather an OVA animated version adapted from Gunmeng. In terms of the overall plot, character settings and interpersonal relationships, and the appearance of the characters, they are all similar to OVA, especially the original OVA character Qilian and its related plots are retained. Strictly speaking, OVA animation itself has made a drastic adaptation of the comics, and the contradictions and conflicts are more cinematic, simple and binary, which are suitable for output as film and television works. In contrast to comics, values are not so universal and binary, but have a lot of complex and gray content. Judging from the previous adaptations of oriental works by Hollywood, de-orientation, universalization and simplification of values are the core methods. Only in this way can we produce works that fit the Hollywood context, at least without making social and political mistakes.
Of course, despite the drastic adaptation, the film, like the adaptations of Ghost in the Shell and Tomb Raider, retains many classic storylines and scenes from the original work, as well as important supporting roles (Kashioka and Keomi you found What), it is a tribute, or care for the fans of the original work. However, due to the overall tone, background setting, core themes, values, and context, there are adaptations. When the original plot is put into it, it will appear very strange, especially in terms of logic, as if there are two sets of logic that do not match each other. For audiences who have not seen the original work, they may feel that some parts of the logic are incomprehensible, or the behavior of the characters is abrupt and out of line. Those who have seen it will make up their own minds and correct the adaptation of the film because they know the original motives of the characters. Instead, they feel the logic of the film more. Weird.
Of course, the movie is only two hours long, but it includes a lot of stories in the first half of the comic: the origin of Alita, discovering that she has amazing skills and acting as a bounty hunter for the first time, and the first boss Gruishka's story The grudge, the grudge with Zapan, the first love after rebirth, and the mobile iron ball. So many plots themselves can be regarded as unit stories, but they must be integrated, no wonder they will refer to the adaptation method of OVA animation. Moreover, the film's handling of the background setting, especially like the previous Warcraft movies, reconstructed the world background, retaining only the most core elements, and all important conflicts were simplified.
In the original work, Gruishka, Zapan, and Hugo all have rich background descriptions and motivational explanations. The villains are not simply evil, but have a tragic past and pitiful pain. It can be said that Gunmeng Comics has a very strong ability to whitewash villains, and the frequency is also very high. Almost everyone who appears as the main villain has been whitewashed to varying degrees. Especially Nova, who appeared last in the movie, made the biggest adaptation in the movie, completely modified the relationship between this character and Salem, reset the character setting, and lost the original characteristics and personality of this character. Of course, after all, the comics also made Nova an enemy at the beginning, so I can't guarantee that the second part of the movie will also give Nova a clean slate.
The movie is technically impeccable, and it's not the first time that the big-eyed image has appeared. The number one player before has demonstrated a game-style good comic-style character image. This time, if you don't have a big-eyed cute girl, this time you adapt it Row. However, the author feels that Alita's creation is really in the wrong direction. Her most typical feature is not big eyes, but octopus mouth. How can there not be an octopus mouth that is officially complained about? This is the sexiest and most persistent sign of Alita, and it is also a lot of fun in the original work.
Another point is that the original work has a maddening and bad taste-like hobby for the brain. The movie removes this point for some unknown reason. Considering that the director is a bloody violent bad taste fanatic with the same name as the ruffian Quentin, I really can't understand this movie. It's not an R rating, but a restricted rating is the rating that best presents the visual style of the original work.
Fortunately, the original's adoration of Chinese martial arts has been preserved in the film. Maybe everyone who has seen it has a fresh memory of the Wing Chun-like boxing that Alita punched in front of the mirror. In fact, the design of Mars Mecha in the comics refers to Chinese martial arts and other East Asian martial arts. And in the second last order of the comics, more Chinese Kung Fu appeared, and even some of the coolest fighters in the comics are good at Chinese martial arts. Therefore, the film retains this point, in fact, out of respect for the comics.
Alita was born in the golden age of Japanese sci-fi comics. Although it was not the best and most influential work, the sci-fi and philosophical concepts in it were still very advanced at the time. In particular, the comics discuss the core propositions: what is a person and how to define oneself, constantly throwing out conclusions, and constantly overturning the conclusions. With the cognitive changes of the heroine, the core propositions of the comics are slowly evolving and deepening. But these topics are a bit old-fashioned and outdated in the present, and sci-fi works over the past few decades have dealt with similar topics a lot. Therefore, this adaptation may abandon the core proposition of the original for this reason, but it is also a manifestation of Hollywood's simplistic and simplistic values. After all, Japan embodies a lot of oriental ideas and local ideas in its own works, which may be difficult for Hollywood to understand. Removing these contents is the first step for Hollywood to adapt Japanese comics forever.
I remembered that a friend complained that the manga that the creator of the film read when he created the script may be a version with only pictures without text, and he planned to make it into a movie because he thought the picture was too awesome, so this kind of value and core proposition completely different from the original appeared. Works (only to get back my memory, is it a bit like Jason Bourne, but memory determines who I am, which is quite in line with the conclusion of a stage in the comics). But as Cameron himself said, this film is not made for comic fans, so as long as ordinary fans feel OK, there is hope for a sequel. I also really want to see how far Nova, played by Edward Norton, can go.
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Text: Song
February 24, 2019
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