Alita is a 2019 Sci-Fi/Action film starring Rosa Salazar, Keean Johnson, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connely, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, and Jackie Earle Haley. The story is set in the 2500s in a dystopian future that develops after what is called "The Fall" which is (as you learn if you watch the bonus material) a war between Earth and Mars (after humans colonize Mars). Almost all the humans left on Earth live either in Iron City or a city that floats above it called Zalem. It is partly an origin story for Alita, who wakes up with no memory of who she is, and partly the story of a class system post-apocalypse, with some cyborg bounty hunters thrown in.
The movie is based on a series of Japanese graphic novels that began in the mid-1990s. It mixes action with some drama and even a few comedic moments. James Cameron wrote a very long script from the graphic novels, then passed it off to Robert Rodriguez to make it a movie-length script and direct the movie when Cameron decided to focus on Avatar and the sequels. I have never seen the graphic novels or the anime series, so I don't know how well this stacks up versus those. However, Cameron (at least from what is revealed in the bonus material) kept pretty close to the source material.
The 4k set is a three-disc set that includes a UHD disc, a 3D Blu-Ray disc, and a regular Blu-Ray disc. The UHD disc and the 3D Blu-Ray just contain the movie, and the regular Blu-Ray has the movie and the bonus material. The film looks great in 4K, and you get a ton of bonus features (somewhere around two hours worth) made up of making-of and behind-the-scenes material, as well as animated featurettes that give a bit of backstory that was not put in the movie to keep it at a reasonable (2hr) running time. The movie is CGI-heavy, using much of the same motion-capture effects used on Avatar, so everything looks pretty seamless.
I cannot say the movie will appeal to everyone. But, if you like post-apocalyptic action movies, this one has good acting and writing and tells a more nuanced story. The creators definitely left the door open for a sequel (and there is more than enough source material), but given that it was not exactly a box-office smash, there is no guarantee that others will be made. They did an excellent job with the film if it does end up just being a stand-alone movie. Given, however, that James Cameron can get any film he wants to be made, there is a good possibility that at least one more movie will result from this one. This is not a film you can have on in the background while doing other things and follow easily. You must pay attention to the movie to understand what is going on. But if you have a couple of hours to kill and are looking for a good action movie, it is definitely worth checking out.
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