Like most people, I didn’t bother watching Director Luc Besson’s Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets when it hit the movie theaters. The critics panned the movie badly, so I waited until the video release to watch it. Based on the comic book series of the same name, much of the movie Valerian reminded me more of Besson’s The Fifth Element.
Lots of parallels.
If there’s a Sixth Element, it’s a dimension that involves virtual reality, psychedelic pearls, and lots more lasers and aliens.
The movie features plenty of action and plenty of neon. All in all, I agree with most critics that the film’s main attraction is its sumptuous visuals. In nearly every scene, we are treated to a scenic masterpiece: cities in space, dreamy planets, and more alien creations than you could fit in a Star Wars bar scene.
VR provides another dimension.
Anyone who likes ultraviolet jellyfish and that tingly, zappy lightning stuff won’t be disappointed. It’s like going into the future with a virtual reality headset. One shot of the Alpha station evokes a Ghibli composition and from there it goes to Las Vegas Venetian skies, but once we reach the main destination, the dominant visual tone is Battlestar Galactica-themed laser tag.
You can see most of it in this trailer:
Life on the pearl planet.
The visuals are impressive (probably even more so in 3D), yet the overall effect of the movie remains hokey on some level. It maintains that artificial deference that some directors seem to use when they’re working from comic books. The characters suffer the most from this disconnect. I wouldn’t call the acting terrible, but it’s plain and unremarkable. Dane DeHaan is cold and one dimensional. Perhaps Cara Delavingne can act, but Director Luc Besson does not put her in a position to succeed. She has no chance to create a strong female role like Natalie Portman or Milla Jovovich did more memorably in previous Besson films.
Are you getting the idea? They have these same fixed facial expressions for the entire movie.
The two leads here aren’t likeable. They barely look old enough to drive a spaceship, but of course the fate of the universe is in their hands. Besides appearing more like brother and sister than two people who might have a romantic interest in one another, they have zero chemistry and we don’t see the first smile until about the 45th minute (if there was an earlier one, I missed it).
Most of the time, they are grimmer than Herbie Hancock, who is instantly recognizable in his signature glasses. I guess they couldn’t get him to wear a duct tape bikini or a lizard mask dripping with slime. Perhaps the serious mood is in keeping with the comic book franchise, but despite the playful and imaginative scenery on the journey they take, the main actor and actress do not look like they’re having fun. Their quest is businesslike and their dialogue seems forced.
Herbie Hancock must have included the glasses in his contract.
The film’s storyline is the blank slate that director Luc Besson needed to take the next imaginative step beyond his 1997 movie The Fifth Element. There are some parallels in this dream. There’s the pervasive evil disturbance that the main characters set out to discover and eliminate, requiring a trip to another world. There’s the missing link that makes it all right in the end. There are the larger than life characters, both alien and human, who appear at every juncture and form the living landscape of the journey.
By “larger than life”, I mean these figures are role players in the exaggerated comic book style, often more of a visual distraction than key parts of a fast-moving storyline. The pace slows down noticeably only to bring in Rihanna as a shapeshifting stripper. She ends up being a bright point, but leaves us too soon as noise envelopes the story once more.
Rihanna's cameo is actually a high point, not just for the striptease, but because her character provides a bit of warmth in the film.
I almost missed Chris Tucker’s Ruby Rhod character from The Fifth Element. As in that movie, there is a scene at the departure point before reaching the next-stage destination (Fhloston Paradise in The Fifth Element and Alpha in Valerian). And instead of Ruby Rod, we are given a tour guide with a gigantic turban and a hippy bus. But he doesn’t last as long as the stripper.
Ruby Rhod from the Fifth Element.
The turban tour guide in Valerian.
The last 40 minutes of the movie are a slight improvement. It’s almost as if someone flips a switch, since the plot and the actors loosen up noticeably. Until then, I wasn’t optimistic that the story would resolve itself in any way other than its one dimensional trajectory would suggest. For a short time, it becomes unglued from that page. The actors show a hint of passion and some smiles. It finally appears as if they had rehearsed a scene together.
In the end, I don’t like having to watch a movie only because someone tells me it is a “must see” visual treat. The sideshow figures and critters are memorable again here, and the action is omnipresent, but please give me a movie along with them, even if it is from a comic book. Besides those highlights, there isn’t a good reason to watch Valerian. It reminded me of a SyFy channel movie on a bigger budget.
If you enjoy imaginative visuals and Besson’s sideshow characters with a dose of action, you might enjoy Valerian. But if you need a movie with characters and a plot, then feel free to skip this one. It’s missing some elements.
All images of the movie are from Valerian: City of a Thousand Planets from EuropaCorp and STXfilms. Images of Bruce Willis/Milla Jovovich and Chris Tucker are from The Fifth Element from Columbia Pictures. The last image is a widely circulated meme originating with Lord of the Rings by New Line Cinema.
I have watched this movie. It is not interesting for me as I am not a America .
For me the characters and plot are a must, unfortunately very few sci-fi movies are blessed with such "details" nowadays. I quickly get bored of only visual stuff, no matter how entertaining.
The Ruby character from the Sixth Element was hilarious btw :) I hope they will make movies of that caliber in the future because I'm kind of losing fate in the sci-fi genre, even though I like it a lot.
I felt like the characters were really unbelievable... like the protagonist... he was supposed to be an unpredictable "bad boy." He did not sell it at all.
Agreed, very unconvincing indeed
He behaved like some random college kid they found on the street. Elite agent my butt.
Science fiction is the chief role of our dreams!! @donkeypong @jasonyoakam
This movie was one of the best
Pls I need your upvote https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@davizoe/introducing-myself-on-steemit-9f5a99c2828a3
That's how I feel also. I love scifi, but it's become so lazy overall. There aren't many decent storylines or characters.
Did you watch Moon?
No
I wasn't asking you but watch it regardless to see how a low budget can still produce good sci fi
I don't think so.
please do, it's low budget sci fi thriller/mystery at its finest
Thanks for the suggestion re: Moon. I was just jokingly complaining about not having an alternative after reading this review :)
no problem
@donkeypong I just watched this movie and Hollywood directors sadly needs to go away and do some soul searching. Their tired story lines , abuse of CGI plus always wanting to copy the avatar or whatever blockbuster movie is irritating. That's why i truly wish TRX Coin would fund movies from young directors with a fresher ideas for movies.
Do you like marvel movies too? sir @donkeypong ?
I am right there with you, I really miss the 70s style sci-fi, (pre-star wars)
where they had great dystopic stories that were usually depressing.
Modern Indecent and Foreign sci-fi films are sometimes really good if you can overlook the issues that come from filming with a small budget.
Nothing beats Le Planete Savage in psychedelic dystopia. Second place goes to Gandahar. Third to Zardoz. Fourth to Logan's Run.
'''''''''''Hacking with purposeful outcome''''''''''''
Our service speak for itself, Just mail us for any hack jobs.
Our services include:
Hack into school portal, college server, university database,
Hack Professional Examination Questions
Credit Repairs and Deleting of Criminal Records
Hack Social Media account
Hack any social media accounts
Hack into Government database,
Hack and spy on your spouse and much more.
contact; [email protected]
@donkeypong - Hmm. As soon as I read the title, my mind did draw parallels to the 5th Element. I do love visual effects but am kind of fed up of the lasers poking me in the eye in recent 3D movies. I certainly do not want purple jellyfish tingling my nostrils.
3D has become kind of 'dr.fixit' for all shortcomings as you have correctly pointed out.
I would be freaking out within first 10 minutes of the movie if I saw those wooden expressions for one more minute! Aarrgggh. They are worse than models' expressions during a ramp walk.
Worst of all - instead of the Chris Tucker with attitude, I get to see a Turbaned tour guide? I see enough of those already in real life - Thank you!
Thanks for this comprehensive review (and heads up). Will avoid watching even as a re-run! LOL
Upvoted full.
Regards,
@vm2904
You wouldn't believe it. Their chemistry was just soo off. It was ridiculous...
"Wooden expressions" is a good way to put it. They held them for almost the entire movie.
Seriously, you said my mind. They now cover so many loopholes with 3D. I mean, what the hell!!!
I'm all for good writing, nice plots, compelling dialog and excellent delivery. I don't give a damn about 3D or whatever D they choose to use.
did you watch Moon?
I can only say thank you for making sure that I’m not watching this film at all now, excepting maybe when it’s on Netflix and can serve as a pretty muted background collage of images, but dayum, that’s a lot of votes for a movie review which is incredibly consistent with the general feelings about valerian. For me to get such votes at this point in time I believe I would have to write the seventh element, or at least seven minutes abs. But it is POS after all, and you are donkeypong. I’ll take this over bitcoin and Satoshi rolling around in her grave. Love, Alx
Aside from the lifeless acting, half the movie felt like dead time, as secondary events were taking up most of the duration with slow pacing, leaving very little for the main plot.
For example, calculate how much time was wasted on trying to rescue Laureline from those aliens by side tracking for a shape shifting stripper, when there was a hatch right there in the throne room. For all the time Valerian wasted on trying to sneak in and not cause a mess, he ended up causing a mess and escaped through the hatch. Why didn't he simply use the hatch and be done with it?
So we can have a completely useless strip dance. Not to mention how we are also supposed to care about the stripper afterwards, when in effect she was removed from the plot exactly when her purpose was fulfilled.
You're not wrong there. I liked the stripper, though. I know she was an alien, but my first thought was that she brought a bit of humanity to the screen finally (before being removed). Yes, the plot was a mess.
I might as well add the plot armor of Valerian having the soul of the dead alien inside him, so the rest of them will not oppose him once they meet and the story can conveniently move in his favor without having to kill any of those victimized fellows. For a plot point that was foreshadowed in the beginning of the movie, he dismissed its importance early on, and the aliens on the multi dimensional bazaar did not do something about it right away.
And then it's the plan of the human general to hide the truth of the battle. How exactly would he do that where there were thousands of soldiers fighting on both sides? How do you hide the destruction of a planet by erasing footage and killing a couple of staff members? There were way too many witnesses, enemy side included.
I think there might be a problem with the casting here... Compared to the 5th element cast, this kids look too young and trying too hard to look cool whereas in T5thE Bruce Willis and Gary Oldman were just so right in their element it made the movie flow naturally. I hope I'm mistaken and they blow me away.
@donkeypong
Sadly, you are not mistaken. The casting was poor. The movie gave me no reason to like either of them. Even with flat direction, two decent actors could have carried it better than they did. Bruce Willis never won any acting awards (as far as I know), but he had force and charisma on the screen at all times. These people didn't have help from the director and they couldn't fill any gaps on their own.
A lot of you guys don't even know that this Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets inspired Star Wars and many other sci-fi books and movies. I'm not saying this movie is gonna be good or bad, but just know that the graphic novel inspired many of the things we watch and read today. Give this movie a chance, I will @donkeypong
The books are beloved by many and yes, they were influential. If you like them that much, you might enjoy the movie, but I didn't.
I think Rihanna's play is the most important factor for watching @donkeypong
Thanks for your vote :)
I watched it in the plane last month. I fully agree with your critique. The movie is beautiful, nice to watch. However, the story is not that great, very predictable, and the characters are not attractive.
I could actually say the same for the last Star Wars that I didn't like that much too...
It had some similarities to the recent Star Wars; they are throwing in as much distraction & action as they can now and hoping it keeps people entertained. I enjoyed Star Wars better than this one, though.
Same for me, but the comparison is unfair. I saw Valerian in the plane and Star Wars in 3D in a movie theater (and I was with my family :p ).
I haven't bothered to watch it but i'm sure I will at some stage when I come across it on covenant. The fifth element however is a classic.
Bruce willis and a hot confused alien, what's not to love. To be fair the plot and visuals were actually decent as well which turned it into a great watch. It's still one I will leave on when it's showing on the tv.
The Fifth Element was better than this one unless you like raw visuals and action.
Thanks for such an in depth review! Going to have to go and watch Valerian now :)
donkeypong...another marvelous post. You are truly a talented writer and I truly enjoy learning from you and the insights and critiques you provide through your very intellectual point of views. Reading this makes me kind of curious to see this movie even if its not the greatest, I liked fifth element so maybe I will enjoy this. The only thing I don't really agree with is is that Ned Stark in the quotation poster you put on the bottom of your post? Game of Thrones is one of my favorite and Ned Stark was a honorable man..the quote is true though just not about Ned Stark common he has been through enough.
Quite a bad movie for me and it just needs more and with a more better actors. Sci-Fi must have a bigger budget.
Your reaction to this movie reminds me of going to the movies with my parents when I was a child during the time of the 3-D movies where you had to wear the glasses. Everybody was squealing loudly in fear but I didn't get that those movies were so fearful! I think the audiences felt they were expected to react in that way! Lol
Those things were headache-inducing, too.
I didn't even need to read the critics, watching the trailer turned me off and I decided, I will not be wasting my time for this movie. I loved 5th element, but this trailer showed me that the director lost himself in unlimited possibilities of computer graphics.
Thanks for the review!
Ever since this interview, Cara Delevingne has kind of bugged me; although, the morning show anchors bugged me in this clip, too...
Yes. I'm not sure I've seen her in anything else yet (don't think so), but this wasn't a good introduction.
Good thoughts here. I reviewed this film, too. Lots of style over substance, but I could see some technical awards this season.
The concept of the weird VR tour was a cool idea. There were many cool ideas here. It was just really hard to keep up with the actual acting of it...
Yeah. The acting was horrible. The script was terrible, too. It might be fun to read a translation of the comics to see what was so inspiring in the first place. Besson had been wanting to make this flick for years, but you have to wonder why?
Thanks. I'll have to go back and look at your review as well. Definitely style over substance; this director pretty much threw anything and everything in.
I can understand the appeal of more is more, but, often, it's less :)
wow! Even though I haven't watched the movie, I love your analysis and review, it gave me a visual and preview of what the movie entails, nice one @donkeypong.
This is a very nice review, movie directors should give you a role to play in reviewing or going through movies before they are published, I will definitely see the movie, and mark your points out.
you are awesome loved the review and now i am followig you for the future great stuff i expect .. some thanks for posting
maybe the director needs more funds to make this movie more perfect and appropriate. especially male main actors need a refresher.
Thanks @donkeypong has reviewed
Your interest in various fields, especially artistic ones, indicate your high intellectual level, and I appreciate you for that
I liked every scene, every moment in this movie.
This is one of those movies where if you were lucky enough to see it first-run, you did not really appreciate it at the time.
It holds up very well. And gets better with subsequent viewings (As does MS. Jovovich who went on to do a string of very memorable sci fi flicks, and one drama where, believe it or not, she played an aspiring wedding singer) Massive (truly massive) talent in front of and behind the camera. Luc Besson in front (crazy as a loon but boy can he write scripts) and Willis/Oldman in front.
For the day, the special effects were top notch.
There a joyful innocence about the film which was rare at the time, and even rarer today.
See it once. See it often. It'll make you smile
i must say the sci-fi 3d graphics was on point, but i think it was too much. i guess why people didn't like the two lead characters was because they were pretty young. but to me the characters were perfect cause i fell that we are too familiar with older characters. my review for the movie ? it was awesome especially rihanna's scene lol
Glad you liked it. We've seen some great younger actors and actresses in other movies. Star Wars chose some much better ones to cast in recent movies or gave them the freedom to put more life into their characters. I still can't figure out why the Valerian actors kept the same facial expressions the entire movie. They weren't given a chance to act.
It's true though. But I guess there's still room for improvement
Very nice review, do they even know if I should still watch the movie cause your review has seen it all.
This is a good review. I think movies are so focused on box office right now that good ideas (and this film has a good idea at it's core) are sacrificed to the need to have a great opening weekend. This movie looks like a (slightly more attractive) Marvel movie and I suspect the director wouldn't have said no to a franchise. He won't get it (and wouldn't care) but it's symptomatic of the current state of cinema. Everyone competes against Star Wars and Marvel.
This movie is obviously a 'think piece', and stood no chance against 'Avengers Go Shopping' or whatever those things are called.
I give you my fullest guarantee that Valerian will be a cult classic in about five years.
I agree to a point that is film lacked in alot of areas. It seemed like it was thrown together and they were hoping for the best from the fan-base that the movie had. Thinking about it I had to force myself to finish watch it and that's not a good thing for me to say about a film because I generally take the complex visuals into consideration because I'm an enthusiastic video compositor and cg artist. That said it was not as enjoyable as I hoped and your analysis fully broke down why. It's sad that directors rely on fancy never before seen visuals to sell tickets and then we're left with golden poo. Its just shit that looks nice.
Wow! I doubt I have ever read such a comprehensive movie review! @donkeypong, you are incredibly awesome! And there I was thinking Steemit would be no fun... Boy! Was I ever so wrong.
I saw Fifth element years ago and I loved it. Leeloo was so sexy and so vulnerable despite being so powerful, and Bruce Willis as cab driver Dallas still had his hair and had a tendency to smoulder sexily like D Rock in Jumanji (2017) *grinning. The 2 lead characters had crazy chemistry.
I totally agree with you that Valerian and Laureline indeed lacked chemistry but come on! Cut them some slack...the infrequent smiling and their serious expressions were in keeping with their characters... Laureline was a no nonsense agent, while Valerian was a happy go lucky but expert agent.
I agree with you about Bubble the shape shifter, she was fabulous and she brought much warmth to the movie just as Ruby Rod brought comedy into The Fifth Element. I believe they let her character die so soon so as not to steal the show. The truth is I did enjoy the movie a lot but then, I'm pretty easy to please... Lol
Now I kinda want to see it only because you didn't leave me with an alternative suggestion lol
Interesting, I love the 5th Element so I think I will check this out if I get the chance, I have probably seen the 5th element 10 times, of course it won't be as good without Bruce Willis and Milla
Man, if it even captures 10% of the feeling and aesthetic of The Fifth Element, I might just watch it for nostalgia's sake. Thanks for putting it on my radar.
~ Kevin
You might get 10%, but not close to 100%. :)
I'll take what I can get...and I'll rewatch The 5th Element for the 100th time ;)
"One does not simply fix bad writing, bad acting and Jar Jar Binks with 3D." HAHA, I haven't had good laugh like that in awhile. Thanks for the in-depth review. I think I'll revisit The Fifth Element now instead of watching Valerian. What's the next movie on the list for you to watch?
Haven't picked the next one yet. Any good suggestions?
I've heard good things about Bright on Netflix. I just finished reading A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain, so I'm going to check out this oldie by Bing Crosby over the weekend: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041259/
Bright was crap, an opinion shared by almost as many people as this movie XD
Touche, guess I should skip it. Thanks for the heads up. Got one to rec me?
Lots but you need to be specific on what you seek
I'm in the mood for either sci-fi, western or thriller.
The fifth element was my most favorite sci fi movie back in the day, also ghost in the shell anime movie. I was going to watch valerian but never really was interested. It just didn't really look appealing to me. Good review by the way @donkeypong.
Well @donkeypong,
One should i must admire that your level of analysis and review regarding this movie is above than standard, You have very great quality you don't take things in a negative way but make them correct and put the solutions often too. Which shows your level and caliber.
As far as the The Sixth Element? Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is concerned you just have nailed the review in a very deep and detailed way.
Duplication and copy of the scenes always make a video/movie less worthy. Director Luc Besson’s is a big name no doubt but sometimes he goes beyond the innovation which many viewers do not like.
I am sure the review you have done in your article took much effort than the script writer of this Movie.
By the way i would like to watch this movie by keeping your review in my mind.
Thanks for writing such a detailed and worth reading Movie-review
Stay Blessed, Steem On!
I liked Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, I think it was a fun, visually beautiful looking film. I also thought Rihanna did a good job as well in her small role. The potential is there when it comes to character and story buliding but there isn’t enough action to balance out the exposition and the dialogue is really silly a lot of times... It simply isn't a movie I enjoyed.
Haven't watched the movie, but I'm sure a lot of the reason why movies like this are so much duller and more generic in their feel is that Hollywood realized that as international audience revenue grew at the box office they would have to cater to them to maintain profit margins. This has led to major studios only pushing for safe investments and shying away from topics, subjects and imagery that might be deemed offensive in some of the larger markets like China.
As the creatives have less and less control in big budget movies we've seen them become tamer in their film-making approaches as they don't want to be punished for wasting filming dollars on scenes they know will be cut by the studio. Add to that the increased use of statistics to pre-screen for elements they know will appease the broad audience and they've honed holly big budget movies down into a narrow subset of extremely sameish-feeling excuses for action, physical comedy and large explosions, which are all things that translate well across language and cultural barriers.
So while they've increased their share abroad and held onto the mass market domestically they've willingly let go of the intellectuals amongst us who have ourselves benefited from a resurgence of thought-provoking television, whose long-form allows for far greater character and plot development and tackling of the issues than any two movie romp could ever do. The sad fact is that as a percentage of the market those with discriminating tastes can't influence the box office that much, but at least we can binge watch a few quality shows every now and then, or reminisce about how much better Robocop was than the reboot.
why man
robocop was better.
I love the The Fifth Element it is just a good time. I thought I was going to hate Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets but it was good, although... It was no Fifth Element :P
Bruce Willis's acting in the Fifth Element puts these movies beyond comparison.
I love Besson's films. It's always a terrific sight. It is not necessary to think about the plot of the film)) I'm sure this film is worthy of attention
Ey Tom, I actually enjoyed this movie so much!! I wasn't expecting much to be honest but it was a nice surprise!
I'm glad you liked it. In the right mood, I can see enjoying the ride as long as you acknowledge there isn't much more to it.
That is quite the parallel you bring here! I recall seeing The Fifth Element and enjoying that movie. I also saw Valerian. Interestingly enough, the word just reminds me of the plant valeriana officinalis, which doesn't give a very strong name for a lead character for this type of movie (IMO). I never realized the similarities you draw out here. The Fifth Element, to me is a classic. You certainly are right about a lot of these things. Thanks for the perspective!
That's what I thought of also - the plant - which is a remedy for insomnia. :)
Great review! Thank you so much for weathering this so I didn't have to.
I got incredibly lucky when my 12 year old son said he had no interest in it at all. It seems I dodged a major time sucking bullet.
This is very nice review @donkeypong. Impressive video trail. Its using 3D technology and Bruce wills did better character here. Totally awesome.
Its very interesting to watch. I have only watch 5th Element. It was some enjoy to me those days. I read this review completely. So I think I'll watch it soon. Sure....6 Element would be greatest movie. Thanks for introducing.
I watched the 5th Element for the visuals I could expect from the trailer. I later learned that famed artist and co-founder of Heavy Metal Magazine, Moebius, was a consultant for that film.
So I watched the trailer to see if there were any parallels or resemblances. I didn't see much, but the trailer does tease with great visuals. I'd watch the film just to see if there are any new or interesting concepts. That's kind of where I go, even if the plot and acting don't work for me.
I watch Jupiter Ascending even after reading reviews that panned it. Yes, it had it's problems, but like the 5th Element, there were some genuinely funny scenes. I suspect Besson has a few of those, too.
Thanks for your review and bringing it here. Now I'm curious to see it just to see if your review does it justice. But I'll be waiting to stream it for cheap when that time comes.
I actually liked the movie. I probably enjoyed it more than The Last Jedi, now that I think about it. What I liked about it the most was that it had that "European Sci Fi" feel to it. It was just different from the usual Star Trek / Star Wars look. I think it will become a cult classic, even though I know it lost a lot of money for its investors.
Awesome movie if you enjoy watching children carry on like pork chops for how ever long.
This was super awesome review with some classic image gems so thanks for post!🎥I'm curious about Valerian now...
attention to detail It was a science fiction film. thanks for the post ;)
@donkeypong, Absolutely very impressive too read and watch movie review of Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. Its series of 6th Elements. The movie features very better arrangement. Film has attractive scene. Further confirmation I'll watch it out. Movie director Luc Besson’s did awesome task for made Valerian nicely.
I've seen past element series. Its my favorite sci fi movie collections. I refer to aliens compared movies including planets. Valerian its indeed. I bet has amazing impressive 3D visual scene. Currently film making without 3D technology its would be unsuccessful. More peoples like to watch with 3D visuals like as me.
Actually I can't wait to watch Rihanna's character from movie. She's act very better in the movie. Finally I tell Valerian is a attractive film to me. But I can give more credit after check out. Thanks for nice movie trailer.
Am not a science fiction freak, so i would pass seeing the movie. Nice review of the movie @donkeypong. At least i have an idea of movie even if i do not get to watch it.