I’ve just returned from the cinema where I’ve watched “Valerian and the city of thousand planets” by Luc Besson and I’d like to share my thoughts with you on this project.
The film is based on the French science fiction comics "Valérian and Laureline". I’ve seen trailer before I ever went to see the movie and I gotta say that I was in two minds because of all the bright pictures and flashes practically attacking me from the streaming video. So many different aliens that I couldn’t remember at first glance. It seemed too colorful and a lot of stuff was going on within those two minutes of the trailer. Definitely a lot of money was invested in this project – it’s Luc Besson after all – but I know from the experience, namely “Jupiter Rising” by the Wachowski brothers/sisters, that all those action scenes and colors may turn out to be too heavy or overwhelming and useless at the end of the day. So I worried a little about that aspect.
Apparently there was no need to worry because the film played a spectacular show for me! There was logic and a fluently laid out plot.
I didn’t expect a lot from the film when I set my foot into the movie theatre but I left it being in a very content state of mind.
The plot is based around the city of thousand planets, a place where most of the known interplanetary species live and work together for the benefit of all universe. Somehow there appeared a mysterious radioactive signal-free zone in the center of the city where nobody can get in or out. The militaries need help from their best agents, Valerian and Laureline, to help them solve the “red zone” mystery. There is nothing that these two can’t handle and you’re about to see it with your own eyes. They expect to find something really dangerous and lethal, however, is it possible that they find something else entirely? That’s what you’ll have to learn yourselves!
Valerian is played by Dane DeHaan. You may have seen him in “Cure for Wellness” released just last year and some other interesting works. Cara Delevingne who played Laureline is mostly known for her modeling career and some acting works in “Paper Towns”, “Suicidal Squad” and other supporting roles.
There was nothing phenomenal about the cast and it was really hard to say if the tandem of the two actors was going to work. The reason why I even bothered was that the major part of the screen play was based on their communication and interaction.
In the beginning I didn’t feel even a morsel of the chemistry that was supposed to be between these two characters and it disappointed me at first. But then their relationships kind of went into the background and I finally started to enjoy the movie. The story was solid enough on its own and didn't require much support from the leading characters.
As I’ve told you before a lot of things are happening on the screen. In the trailer it seemed too much and I felt like the creators may have gone overboard with all their action scenes. But then having watched it as a final product of the movie I realized that everything was on its place and just enough to have us thrilled. I never got a chance to get bored or lose a thread of the story line. Even sloppy chemistry between the two main heroes didn’t disturb me anymore. At some points I may have even enjoyed their exchange of witty phrases.
There was one moment though which I felt was unnecessary. It happened when they tried to keep the identity of the main villain a mystery. You know these tricks when we can’t see the face of the villain and see only his back or hear his voice by which we understand that he’s about to do something very-very bad. Well, when I’ve got to this scene, it made me snicker like a jerk, because it was so trite and the villain was already obvious by that time, so withholding his identity was not required at all. If the film could have been re-cut, I’d advise to correct only this one scene.
As for the visuals, they were fantastic. When they’ve shown the planet that the whole fuss was about, I’m telling you, I felt like I was on that planet myself. I felt all the warmth and waves of the breeze in the picture on my own skin. The wide range of the colors didn’t overwhelm me as I originally feared. On the contrary, these colors helped to immerse us into the space and explore the infinity of the universe so strikingly creatively pictured by the movie makers.
I won’t spoil on the plot but I’ll say that there’re many impressive creatures and characters that embellished the film. You remember what Luc Besson made with “The Fifth Element”, similarly here he also didn’t refrain himself from breaking his back while creating all those incredible and mind blowing alien looks and shapes. There are no boundaries in this game of mind.
Music background put us into the right mood and spirit. You know it’s going to be extraordinary just as soon as you hear the opening song that happens to be a legendary “Space Oddity” by David Bowie.
So let’s put a finishing touch to all of the above said. The film is a great enjoyable show if you’re in for some entertainment. It has a few minor issue but they fade in comparison with all of the advantages of the film. I think that I may want to watch it again in a few years.
Thank you for reading this post! I wish you more good movies!