Cyborgs fighting vicious battles on treacherous streets, looking to figure out who they really are. Sounds like your average night on South Beach, but it’s *also* the plot of “Alita: Battle Angel.” The stars hit up SoFlo on Monday and hung out with Deco’s own angel, Chris Van Vliet.
Mahershala Ali (as Vector): “She’s the last of her kind. She contains technology that has been lost for 300 years.”
‘Alita: Battle Angel” takes us several hundred years into the future to a place called the Iron City, where we meet a cyborg named Alita.
Rosa Salazar (as Alita): “Does it bother you? That I’m not completely human?”
But who, and what, exactly, is Alita? Rosa Salazar, who plays the CGI character, sat down with us on Miami Beach to explain.
Chris Van Vliet: “Rosa, tell me. Who is Alita?”
Rosa Salazar: “She goes on a journey of self-discovery, and on that journey, she realizes, ‘I’m actually not insignificant. I’m someone extraordinary.'”
And she quickly realizes she has extraordinary abilities, hence the “Battle Angel” part of the movie’s title.
Christoph Waltz (as Dr. Dyson Ido): “My God.”
The movie was originally written by James Cameron, but when he got too busy making “Avatar” and its sequels, it was handed over to director Robert Rodriguez.
Robert Rodriguez: “I wanted to try to make movies at the level he does, that appeal to all audiences all around the world, and that’s what this story does.”
Rosa Salazar (as Alita): “I do not stand by in the presence of evil.”
Chris Van Vliet: “Rosa, Alita is so fearless. In playing this character, have you become more fearless yourself?”
Rosa Salazar: “I think you have to be fearless to be a woman in general, but yeah, I think that’s something we had in common.”
Come hungry, because this movie is a feast for the eyes. The visuals here are unlike anything we’ve ever seen on the big screen, but at the core is a young woman’s journey to find her true self.
Rosa Salazar: I don’t think it’s just for young women, although I’m glad that they have this female protagonist that they can look up to and relate to. I think anybody can relate to the message of finding within yourself that kind of empowerment.”
I had the honor of hosting a Q&A with Rodriguez and producer Jon Landau before an advance screening at AMC Sunset Place in South Miami, earlier on Monday.
If Rosa looks familiar, that’s because you may have seen her opposite Sandra Bullock in the Netflix thriller “Bird Box.”
“Alita” prepares for battle in theaters on Thursday, Feb. 14.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.