Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

After its very promising start followed by playful adventures that sometimes add nothing to the plot (product placement by Hawke and Rihanna targeted at American audiences), Valerian ends just in the way you’ve been expecting since about the midpoint of the movie, without any effort to freshen up all the genre clichés. It seems like Luc Besson used up all of his imagination on monsters, set designs and visual details that are pleasant to see, but he didn’t care whether the viewer would remember anything after his spectacle is over. The only thing I remember is Cara Delevingne, which is thanks to her performance and the work of her costume designer. And does a director with Besson’s reputation really need to have it explained to him that Clive Owen is a bad fit for this type of villain and that the film would have greatly benefited if Owen switched characters with Sam Spruell? (18.07.2017)

When it comes to this film, I agree with the rest of the reviews here. Luc Besson has decided to shoot an epic sci-fi, which he managed perfectly on the visual side. However, the acting and the storyline are a complete fiasco. While it is evident that he holds the original fairytale in great regard and it must have taken him a lot of work to think up all the locations digitally, but what’s the use of it when the leading roles are portrayed by actors who are as plastic as Barbie and Ken. Truly a portrayal of humans in the most glamorous way. Add in the unconvincing story, which bores more than it entertains, and all that is left is to enjoy the colorful imagery, as the creators of the digital effects spared no expense on colors. It’s a shame that what usually bothers me about digital image the most is the digital itself, which in this film crosses all boundaries. I guess I am old-fashioned. So, when it comes to sci-fi films by Luc Besson, The Fifth Element undisputedly wins, as there is really no comparison. I’ve said it many times already, but action actors of the likes of Bruce Willis in the nineties are not born nowadays. Or they do not get good enough screenplays. (25.07.2018)

Well, it was nice to watch, yeah. There hasn't been a more spectacular-looking sci-fi film since Avatar, but visual effects aren't everything, and although Luc Besson manages to impress with the very first scene, he soon runs out of breath. In fact, it's as if he's decided not to tell a story, but merely to present a world in which another twelve films could take place. That world is really beautiful, mind, but when you have boring protagonists running around the screen, and when they actually intervene in the story rather accidentally, boredom is bound to set in sooner or later, no matter how good it looks. The main characters are unnecessarily out of the action all the time, and the more interesting and exciting things happen almost without their input. (16.08.2017)

It warms the heart when one sees how Luc Besson's Valerian is for him the true First Element. I may not know the comic book, but the respect for the material and the almost childlike nurturing of everything related to its world brought a smile to my face more than once. Unfortunately, what is being nurtured is not something that can be called old-fashioned, but just outdated. Considering the year of the source material, it's unfair to criticize that we have already seen something similar countless times, but unfortunately, there are no plot twists happening in Alpha. I am also really sorry about that, because the rumors about this having the best visuals of the last decade were not wrong. Every flight, jump, or water trip takes your breath away with every pixel and erases yet another imaginary boundary of digital effects. The fact that this happens in several casually patched episodes that awkwardly drag along the central mundane plot is unfortunately just one big sigh. At the expense of the visual aspect, character development suffers as well, because the central Valerian's apparent task is only to deliver annoying lines and occasional action escapades. Dane DeHaan's unique face even tantalizes antiheroes, but cruelly fails in this case. Cara Delevingne effortlessly rises to the top, and it is perhaps thanks to her natural Laureline that she has moved on to starring roles written for her. (21.07.2017)

Even if I didn't know the name of the director, I would quickly guess that the project has something to do with the king of French commercial production, Luc Besson. His cinematic thinking and value scale are clearly reflected in the film. He has always advocated that a film should be a spectacle and represent an escape from mundane and sometimes unpleasant reality into the world of fantasy and adventure. The technical and visual aspects usually overshadowed the story, and that was also evident in Valerian. Besson managed Valerian better as a comic adaptation than The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec, but I can't give him a higher rating because his film is aimed at a completely different audience or rather a different age category. I would have enjoyed Valerian at the age of 14, but now it bypasses me completely. Besson is showing himself here as a megalomaniac, and I have a feeling that lately, he's losing his sense of moderation and a nose for commercially successful projects. It works in terms of its little details, but as a whole, it's naïve, print-like, and overdone. If there is a reason for a man to watch Valerian, then it is the presence of Cara Delevingne in the lead female role. If I were 15, I would have her poster above my bed, and at 20, I would dream of going on a date with her. She has undeniable charm, the grace of a model, a decent acting range, and the energy of youth. She fits perfectly into a comic blockbuster. Overall impression: 40%. (24.12.2020)

An entertaining comic book movie with no greater ambitions. Visually unbelievably well made, maybe on a par with Avatar. It’s a bit over-long, but there is lots to look at. Fantastic music, fantastic Cara. P.S.: You can see the influence of the original Star Wars, but it certainly doesn’t seem like a copy at all. (11.11.2017)

I think that despite all the enthusiasm, energy and breathtaking production design, we are all willing to forgive the lack of physical laws, technical fundamentals and logic. But forgiving a stale story full of boring puzzle unravelling and a predictable finale – that's too much. So if we ignore the story filler, we're left with about 50 percent of the whole, i.e. fantastic-looking filmmaking full of funny scenes (Rihanna is incredible), Luc Besson's exceptional imagination of fictional worlds, and the awesome chemistry of the central couple, with the sexy Cara Delevingne playing with Dane DeHaan like anything. The European version of Guardians of the Galaxy. (12.08.2017)

I liked Jupiter Ascending, I liked John Carter, too, and I think Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is much more similar to them rather than the mentioned Star Wars. It also has something that the two stories mentioned don't have - 100% sympathetic main characters, finally a pair that has spark from start to finish and who is a joy to watch and listen to. Although the film is not original in terms of story (that would be hard, considering this is a 40-year-old book), its workmanship and smilingly adventurous atmosphere playfully make up for it. Perhaps only Alexander Desplat's music didn't make me feel how I would have liked this time. (02.08.2017)

Valerian is beautiful proof that Besson is a top craftsman who can work with visual effects as well as James Cameron, but unfortunately only a mediocre storyteller; or rather, a filmmaker who wants to please everyone and is too wrapped up in his own creation. How else to explain that such a simple plot is stretched to 130 minutes and instead of working on the supporting characters and creating a coherent structure, the script repeatedly flounders in dead ends and lets us get to know only the two title characters. Fortunately, it all looks breathtaking, the sophistication of the various settings is perhaps richer than in any SW, some scenes are truly epic, and the whole thing is surprisingly dominated by the mesmerizing Cara Delevingne, who oozes charisma and I don't have to explain how difficult it would be to play alongside her in a tight jumpsuit or, heaven forbid, just a pair of shorts (in this respect, one must also admire the otherwise traditionally bland DeHaan). I'd love to see this made by Cameron, who would add drama, more epicness and maybe even Arnold... Rihanna's cameo is great, though completely irrelevant to the story (as are many other elements). 65% (26.12.2017)

The references, inspirations and maybe even copying from The Fifth Element and Avatar are unmistakable, but they do not disturb or offend. In terms of visuals, this is a decently made blockbuster in which some of the characters are perhaps a little too artificial, but the breathtaking look of the locations makes up for it. Personally, I had a bit of a problem with the lead character Valerian, whom I found exceedingly unlikeable, so I can't say I was rooting for him as a viewer. I definitely give it a thumbs up for some plot digressions (the troll lair, Rihanna) or ideas ("pearlfish"). In short, a film that perhaps tries a little too hard to match its competitors, taking perhaps a little too big a bite in some places. (01.09.2017)

That's the essence of latter-day Besson. A purely perfunctory funhouse whose script does little more than string together desirable scenes and contains characters so terribly written it would make you want to stab yourself. Which is simply the problem of aging egotists who, from certain points on, have completely resigned from making any effort to understand anyone other than themselves. But is it a problem for Valerian? It doesn't matter, because the primary concern here is the fantastic world through which he guides us and of which he wants to show us as much as possible. Even in a literal shortcut, for example, where the protagonist runs through the city through the walls and we find ourselves in a completely different environment every two seconds in an absolutely breathtaking scene. As expected, it's obviously a madcap patchwork (though what cinematic space opera isn't), but I have more sympathy for it than, say, contemporary Star Wars, because in its goofiness and frank puerility it's simply more authentic than a hollowed-out marketing mogul that swaps creativity for "creative producers". (08.11.2021)

Even if I ignored the two sleazy-looking leads, I would still be annoyed by the weird plot that didn't work for me at all. Luc Besson bet everything on the visuals, but after a while I felt like I'd seen it all before and remembered Bruce Willis driving around in his cab in The Fifth Element. But The Fifth Element was action-packed, funny and full of one-liners. Here, there was just action that wasn’t all that exciting for me, plus Rihanna, who had already shown me her acting skills in Battleship. And if that wasn’t bad enough, I wasted more than two hours on this film. (27.01.2018)

Red rover, red rover, Luc Besson and his painted sets are over. A mannerist, over-stylized CGI wank that is so self-absorbed in its visuals that it almost parodies itself in certain passages. That said, the story itself isn't completely silly, and if a filmmaker with a real vision had taken it on, it could have made a fine intergalactic spectacle with a diverse world of its own and (in the future) perhaps a rather interesting mythology, who knows. The whole thing struck me as an aging and once-famous filmmaker fulfilling an adolescent wet dream. And with a few exceptions, it had really bizarre casting. (05.03.2019)

A mixture of Avatar and the most infantile scenes from Star Wars resulting in a totally silly and uninteresting story, so technically masterful that it’s almost a waste. But seriously, it’s been a long time since I saw such a perfectly made film which is, just like Avatar, undercut by an incredibly dull and predictable story. The cast seems representative of the whole film. The central couple is okay (Cara Delevingne’s part was practically tailor-made for her so it fits her well), but I’m not sure if they are good enough for a $177-million budget blockbuster (because the box office revenues tell a different story). Honestly, I did enjoy watching this movie, but I often had no idea why someone was doing what they were doing. In fact, I didn’t even care. Nevertheless, as a perfect audiovisual treat, it will surely stand the test of time. (05.11.2017)