The Manga eyes didn’t bother me, it was the mouth, the split-second between changes in facial expression you pick up from a human performer (Rosa Salazar) motion-capturing an almost-human. It’s completely different from creating a believable ape or orc or Gollum. Lead character aside, not a whole lot in ALITA is memorable. Now I’m not saying every character in a Manga or Anime adaptation needs to be Japanese, but at least some of them should be. It looks expensive, the action is flashy and the world is detailed, but you never feel like you’re really in it. Christoph Waltz has to laboriously explain in his admittedly honeyed voice every new concept and conflict, who is what class and why, but too much is left to be continued in writer-producer James Cameron’s arrogant presumption of guaranteed sequels. What we’re left with is a pretty, empty and unfinished story. SSP