Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
Dir: Luc Besson
Cast: Dane Dehaan, Cara Delevingne, Clive Owen, Rihanna, Ethan Hawke
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is the latest from acclaimed
French director Luc Besson ( The Fifth Element, Lucy ) and is based on the
comic of the same name. In this adaptation, Luc transports us to a futuristic world
wild beyond our imagination. After a montage of explorers and aliens being
welcomed set to David Bowie's Space Oddity, we witness a Utopian like planet
and their pale skinned inhabitants get wiped out. The magic pearls that they
harvest help the remaining species survive.
First off, the visuals are outstanding flooding the screen with eye popping CGI &
nifty scifi gizmos. Some of the aliens depicted are very reminiscent of other alien
creatures such as the ones in Avatar and Star Wars. Unfortunately, the aliens here
become a background noise to the thin and tiresome plot.
British actress/model Cara Delevingne is Agt Laureline alongside Dane
Dehaan's Valerian as the pair play two young intergalactic agents who must
protect an alien species before it faces extinction. They go to identify the cause
of a fatal radiation leak in a gigantic space station called Alpha before it's too
late.
Pop star Rihanna shows up as a shapeshifting jelly like alien stripper named
Bubbles whom Valerian befriends. Dane sounds weirdly like Keanu Reeves.
of a fatal radiation leak in a gigantic space station called Alpha before it's too
late.
Pop star Rihanna shows up as a shapeshifting jelly like alien stripper named
Bubbles whom Valerian befriends. Dane sounds weirdly like Keanu Reeves.
Good: The visuals are stunning and rich if not completely mind warping.
The action scenes are energetic and fun and comes across as if watching
a video game but with more color.
The action scenes are energetic and fun and comes across as if watching
a video game but with more color.
Bad: Cara and Dane's characters are about as bland as a bowl of oatmeal. The
two young actors shared absolute zero chemistry that made their romantic
subplot feel just forced. The fact that they looked more like teenagers suited
for an MTV reality show made their roles hard to believe. The pacing teetered
on the brink of boredom with its slow, drawn out exposition. The trio of alien
platypuses were Jar Jar levels of annoying.
Overall : The passion project for Besson was just average in its storytelling and
lacked the kind of humor that made the Guardians of the Galaxy so good. Had this
movie have more brevity it would've been a better film. Adapting a French comic
to the big screen was a no easy task for Besson. Valerian is a crazy mess but a
fun mess in it's pure artistic vision.
two young actors shared absolute zero chemistry that made their romantic
subplot feel just forced. The fact that they looked more like teenagers suited
for an MTV reality show made their roles hard to believe. The pacing teetered
on the brink of boredom with its slow, drawn out exposition. The trio of alien
platypuses were Jar Jar levels of annoying.
Overall : The passion project for Besson was just average in its storytelling and
lacked the kind of humor that made the Guardians of the Galaxy so good. Had this
movie have more brevity it would've been a better film. Adapting a French comic
to the big screen was a no easy task for Besson. Valerian is a crazy mess but a
fun mess in it's pure artistic vision.
Grade: C- (6/10)
