Alita: Battle Angel - 16 WTF Moments

7. Tanji Gets Sliced In Half

Bumblebee Jorge Lendeborg Jr
Paramount

You know what's even more jaw-dropping than a dog getting killed off-screen? A human getting brutally bisected on-screen.

In the third act, Zapan attempts to frame Hugo for murder so that he can kill him legally and claim a bounty for it, but Hugo's pal Tanji (Jorge Lendeborg Jr.) intervenes, attacking Zapan.

Unfortunately he's no match for Zapan, who kicks him into a wall and then slices him in two with his Damascus blade.

Quite how Rodriguez managed to get away with showing Tanji's sliced-up corpse in a freaking PG-13 movie is anyone's guess, because while there's virtually no visible blood, it's still an absolutely horrifying moment.

Considering that they could've just given Tanji a sanitised stabbed-in-the-gut death, this was admirably ballsy, even if it once again feels a million miles away from the tone established earlier in the film.

Advertisement
Contributor
Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.