'Alita: Battle Angel' Clip Shows Off Some Cyborg Vs. Cyborg Action

Like many science fiction films, the success of Alita: Battle Angel seems to hinge on whether or not audiences will fall in love with the wild and weird world in which the story takes place. But some snazzy action certainly can't hurt. In the latest clip from the new Robert Rodriguez film, the badass cyborg warrior Alita (Rosa Salazar) faces office against a hulking robotic menace named Grewishka (Jackie Earl Haley) in the sewers beneath Iron City. Bladed weapons, yelling, and a fair amount of slo-mo ensues.

While this battle is a recreation of a showdown in Yukito Kishiro's classic manga (which I've been reading and enjoying immensely), there are a few changes. Notably, the bad guy here has a different name in the manga (Makaku) and he's even larger than he is here, capable of literally holding Alita in his giant hands. I'm curious whether Grewishka will have the same ludicrous/tragic backstory as his on-the-page counterpart – it may feel like a giant tangent in a two-hour movie, but it goes a long way to humanizing a monstrous, brain-eating cyborg murderer. Does Grewishka eat brains like Makaku did? I guess we'll find out!

Early world on Alita: Battle Angel has been positive, but I'm still not entirely sold on this one. This James Cameron-produced science fiction adventure seems to have plenty of amazing concepts and designs, but I still don't completely buy how these CGI characters look in motion. I'm hoping it's just the action here that's throwing me off – if the cyborgs feel real in the more emotional and dramatic scenes, I can forgive the occasional plastic action.

Alita: Battle Angel will open on February 14, 2019. However, sneak preview screenings are being held this week, so you'll have a chance to see it early.

From visionary filmmakers James Cameron (AVATAR) and Robert Rodriguez (SIN CITY), comes ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, an epic adventure of hope and empowerment. When Alita (Rosa Salazar) awakens with no memory of who she is in a future world she does not recognize, she is taken in by Ido (Christoph Waltz), a compassionate doctor who realizes that somewhere in this abandoned cyborg shell is the heart and soul of a young woman with an extraordinary past. As Alita learns to navigate her new life and the treacherous streets of Iron City, Ido tries to shield her from her mysterious history while her street-smart new friend Hugo (Keean Johnson) offers instead to help trigger her memories. But it is only when the deadly and corrupt forces that run the city come after Alita that she discovers a clue to her past – she has unique fighting abilities that those in power will stop at nothing to control. If she can stay out of their grasp, she could be the key to saving her friends, her family and the world she's grown to love.