10 Incredible Scenes From Mediocre Movies
5. Motorball - Alita: Battle Angel
Alita: Battle Angel is one of the most frustrating blockbuster releases of the last few years - a mesmerising feast for the senses, albeit one held hostage by its deeply bone-headed screenplay, inexplicably co-written by producer James Cameron no less.
No matter how depressingly exposition-laden the script might be, the grandstanding Motorball sequence is nevertheless one of the most breathtaking action sequences put to film in recent times.
Alita (Rosa Salazar) enters herself into a qualifying Motorball race, leading to a deliriously breakneck sequence where she races around the track while her bloodthirsty competitors attempt to dismantle her.
It's by far the most accomplished thing director Robert Rodriguez has ever filmed, combining mesmerising visual effects with creative action beats to deliver a set-piece truly worthy of Cameron himself (who intended to helm the film once upon a time).
Sadly, though, it's a brief burst of spectacular relief in a visually stunning yet thunderously dull piece of work.