The Surprising Reason Fans Are Divided Over Alita: Battle Angel
No matter how gripping a film's story is, the strength of its marketing team, or the budget behind it, it's nothing without dedicated fans. Their unified voice and unwavering desire to see the best out of their favorite franchises make them the key to success in the entertainment industry. For example, look no further than the Alita Army — a group of moviegoers who fell in love with 2019's Alita: Battle Angel from director Robert Rodriguez, and are always willing to show their devotion to the burgeoning cult classic.
The primary goal of the Alita Army is to eventually get a sequel to the original film. While they've been unsuccessful so far, they have yet to give up or disband, instead keeping themselves busy in other ways. When they're not actively campaigning for a continuation, they can easily be found in all corners of the social media world discussing the Alita character, her solo movie, and even breaking down some of its biggest unanswered questions. In contrast to much of the rest of the internet, it is generally the expectation that these conversations will be kept positive, productive, and civil.
Be that as it may, there are some areas in which disagreements can arise. Here's one unexpected topic that has Alita: Battle Angel fans rather divided, and for good reason.
Is Alita: Battle Angel really a "family friendly" movie?
Sitting at a PG-13 rating, some Alita: Battle Angel fans are uncertain as to how it should be categorized. On the surface, it looks like a harmless action flick that preteens and older can enjoy with their family. At the same time, it does present some pretty graphic violence that might turn younger demographics away. Therefore, as asked by Reddit user TranslatorFull3127, is Alita truly the family-friendly film it has been labeled as? Let's take a look at what the fandom has to say on the matter.
"I wouldn't call it a family-friendly movie but its suitable for families, as long as the children aren't too young," writes Vladie, followed up by buchlabum, who adds, "I think possibly because it's not bloody gorey violence like a slasher or realistic war movie. If the cyborgs and robots bleed red oil that looked like blood, I bet it wouldn't be as 'family friendly'." They also note that the language used throughout the film is pretty tame, and it lacks any nudity to help justify an R-rating.
Redditor Twoklawll cites something known as the unspoken "Robots aren't people" rule in media, describing it as "Basically, you can be as violent and brutal as you want so long as its against a robot. If you look at alot of 80's and 90's cartoons, they followed this rule closely." thekaizers is especially blunt in their response, commenting "I don't think it's a family-friendly movie. I saw it 14 times in the theaters and sometimes people would bring kids as young as 5 years old." They do make sure to clarify that it's not out of the question that these parents were unaware of Alita's contents before their screening.
At the end of the day, it's up to the discretion of parents whether or not to show their children Alita: Battle Angel. If you feel comfortable doing so, go for it; if not, that family movie night can stand to wait for as long as necessary.