Battle Angel Alita trailer and reactions

So the long awaited (10 years!) trailer for the James Cameron produced and Robert Rodriguez directed Battle Angel Alita live action movie has finally landed.

While comicbook.com reported on a very old interview Animerica printed with series creator Yukito Kishiro in 1993, where he says a live action adaptation would be his "ultimate dream", fans have been less enthused. And the reason? Well, it's all about those eyes.

Kotaku reported that the trailer was "uncomfortable" and "this trailer smells of whatever made the live-action Ghost in the Shell movie not good".

Mashable couldn't help but open with "those enormous peepers" and just like Alita's face, they dominate the rest of the site's initial coverage.

Geek.com opened with the amusing: Alita: Battle Angel Trailer Asks if Anime Eyes Belong on a Human (No)

However, more positive coverage can be found on the site of respected UK film magazine Empire, who have posted an excellent interview with Rodriguez and how he came to direct the movie which is well worth a read.

Most agree, however, that the film does have some good things going for it. Cameron producing should ensure some quality in execution, and Rodriguez has form on dystopian films. The cast is uniformally excellent, with Christoph Waltz as Ido, Jennifer Connely as a mysterious, possibly Typherian character and Mahershala Ali as Vector, the film has 3 Academy Award Winners to headline. 

The UKA verdict:

Our own observations are that the Scrapyard looks fantastic, Ido's rocket hammer is present and correct, Bar Kansas (the bounty hunter boozer) gets a look-in and Ed Skrein as Zapan looks very cool indeed (needs the leather jacket though!) 

The eyes, well they are a bit uncanny valley, and given that the books (espcially the covers) don't portray Alita as THAT wide-eyed, do seem a curious choice. Whether they'll force viewers out of the movie remains to be seen, but it certainly seems like a curious mix of the real-world and Frozen.

Hopes are high that this will be the film to finally bring anime property to Hollywood properly, so fingers crossed.

What did you think? Sound off below or comment in the forum.