"Baggage", can be a GOOD thing when yours makes it on time across the pond with you on your flight from London, especially if it's first out of the chute and onto the pick up carousel. But, it's NOT such a good thing if one carries quantities of the negative kind into a new relationship, be it an IRL relationship, or, in THIS case, the relationship between a viewer and a filmmaker.

It was to be expected then, when, Anime fans and enthusiasts expressed trepidation after the trailer for "Alita: Battle Angel" dropped. They can all still recall the cringe-fest that was M. Night Shyamalan's, "The Last Airbender", which IMO was DOA from the moment it was cast, and, don't get them started on "Dragonball Z", lest you want a wall of text recounting it's cornucopia of cinema sins.

Now, I'm not here to go down the rabbit hole that is often expressed in the current virtue signaling trend of "whitewashing" outrage. We're not talking about the bad old days practice of Black or Yellow face, where obviously Caucasian actors were darkened or "Orientaled" up to play faux versions of the real deal, nor of instances where it is done for comedic irony, as in Robert Downey Jr's, "Tropic of Thunder' performance, nor, the Waynan's Brothers in "White Chicks". However I DO find it interesting that no one seems outraged in those two instances, or, that the same folks who express shock and dismay at ScarJo's casting as the titular "Ghost in the Shell", ALSO express outrage at those who expressed outrage, at the idea of casting Idris Elba as James Bond. Seems like there's no pleasing some folks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKvqhlhXq9s

But I digress....

My point is, that we, as consumers of visual media, often let ourselves be influenced by the BAGGAGE we carry with us, when watching a film or show. Our expectations, based on PRIOR experiences, can subtly, or even greatly influence our enjoyment of a given offering. I have to wonder how die hard Trekkies would react to STDISCO, if they had NEVER seen Star Trek ANYTHING before? I myself can recall dismissing Wild Wild West, the movie, as soon as I saw Will Smith was cast in the lead, because for me Robert Conrad would always be the personification of James West. Yet, I had the opposite reaction to seeing Denzel Washington cast in the lead of either the Equalizer, or The Magnificent Seven, perhaps because lack of familiarity had not left me ingrained as to who these characters were. (Both great movies IMO by the way) Or perhaps it is just the power of the Denzel. And, even with all the "outrage" over the casting of "Ghost in the Shell", I still enjoyed the movie overall, although it fell down in a few places. Again I was unfamiliar with the source material.

Unlike the disappointing experience with "The Last Airbender", which I went into being a FAN of the Nickelodeon series as well as "The Legend of Korra", I was completely without opinion concerning Alita: Battle Angel. What I DID know was, that it was produced by James Cameron, who doesn't put his name on stinkers, and was directed by Robert Rodriguez, whom I have liked since El Mariachi. BOTH know how to deliver epic, believable worlds and characters, so I put my faith in that, and went in unbiased, with no expectations either way.

And I am SO very GLAD I did!!!

I saw the movie in IMAX / 3D, and, while SOME movies / Directors throw obvious, rather lame 3D effects to boost a lame, insipid storyline, or, OVER use it to the point of distraction, here, they found the perfect balance, with the 3D adding an immersive depth to the already impressive "26% more IMAX picture". If you watch the trailers, you can pretty much figure out which scenes really WOW in this format.

To address the elephant in the room, yes, Alita's eyes DO remind one of a cross between a high tech sex doll (not that I would know) and Margaret Keane's "Big Eyes" waifs. (Cristoph Waltz was in that one too) Yet, here, you quickly become so immersed in the story that you no longer notice. The story begins with Waltz's Dr. Ido discovering Alita's discarded torso in a dump, while he is scavenging for parts to fix up the neighborhood cyborgs, which are plentiful, and not trying to assimilate anyone. Apparently in THIS world, if a body part breaks, gets diseased, or hijacked (yes I said hijacked) it can be replaced, much like a crumpled bumper in a fender bender. Dr. Ido just happens to have a teenager sized cyborg body handy which is explained later in the film, and, a little JB Weld here, and a couple of stitches there and Bobs your Uncle, .. instant Teenage Mutant Ninja Angel...., (sorry) Alita awakens, but has no memory, and, as many teenagers are, is all questions, curiosity, and hormones, all at once, especially when she meets the "polite, hard working", and, all around handy guy Hugo, who IS teenage, but NOT mutant.

A visit from Ido's Ex, Chiren, gives us some (slightly disturbing) back-story and we meet her boss, Vector, played by Mahershala Ali, once again being chauffeured around by Viggo Mortensen, (just kidding) but who IS apparently a big deal, with connections to the sky city of Zalem, which floats above them, and is "the place were the cool hang out, the SWASS like to play, and the rich flaunt clout!" This is where everyone wants to someday go, "by any means necessary", yet Dr. Ido and his ex were apparently exiled from there, no backstory given.

Thrown in are a nice mix of teenage discovery and bonding, combat sports, bounty hunters, robot dogs, robot bounty hunters, set piece fight scenes, featuring robot dogs and bounty hunters of the meat and robot varieties, vivisection, nanobots, betrayal, heartbreak, and general cinematographic carnage....., and just when it was getting REALLY good, the credits ran, and NO ONE MOVED, hoping for one more glimpse of this world, or a Marvel Comics style peek at what is to (hopefully) come.

When I got home, I immediately looked up Alita, both the Anime and the Manga, and found a 2 part 1990's era Anime, which the movie, with a few minor changes and liberties, seems to have followed almost shot for shot in places. So, Kudos for at least partially following the source material, even if changes were made to make a coherent, box office ready story.

Was it perfect for those with the baggage of their own expectations? That's up to them to decide. Did I find it to be an entertaining movie that allowed me to suspend disbelief and immerse myself in Alita's dystopian hive of scum and villainy, and root for her to be victorious in the end? Yes sir!! So, May we have another??? PLEEASE????