Alita: Battle Angel, based on a popular Manga series, is a cyberpunk action film from Robert Rodriguez.

Full of CGI and over the top fisticuffs, Alita: Battle Angel is quite often visually dazzling. It truly feels like an anime come to life. Where it fails is its storytelling.

The titular Alita is not a particularly compelling character, and her romance with Hugo is even less interesting. Such a shortcoming generally doesn't matter all that much in an effects heavy movie, but Alita: Battle Angel leans into their budding romance. No amount of script doctoring could salvage their lack of chemistry.

That aside, this film garnered a legion of online hardcore fans. Though it may not be as awesome as they think, it is still worth watching for those unfamiliar with its inspiration, especially if you enjoy science fiction and rollerblading.

Now, sit back, celebrate your hunter warrior license with a Divot Lemonade and Iced Tea Ale from Sonder Brewing Co., and get ready to Motor Ball! I, the Thunderous Wizard (@WriterTLK), Bling Blake, Capt. Cash, and Chumpzilla are stripping cyborgs for premium parts!

This Week’s Segments:

• Introduction/Plot Breakdown – A Warrior Rises. Discover a Bold New World and a Brave New Hero! (00:00)
• Lingering Questions – Should it finally happen, would we be down for a sequel? (48:56)
• The "Champion's League" Trivia Challenge – Bling Blake challenge the field to trivia about the movie. (1:05:19)
• Recommendations – We offer our picks for the week and next up: We finish off Live Action Flops with a movie that didn't deserve the initial hate, Speed Racer! (1:20:57)

And, as always, hit us up on Threads, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram to check out all the interesting factoids from this week’s episode!

You can find this episode of Hops and Box Office Flops on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Podbean, Spotify, Acast, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Vurbl, Amazon Music, and more!