by Jonathan Klotz
| Published
It's easy to forget that for every blockbuster sci-fi movie The fifth element and InterstellarThere are plenty of films that fail and become catchphrases, and yet, sometimes, all it takes for a failure to become a success is the passage of time. The Star Wars prequels, once reviled, have become classics; John Carter It is a lost masterpiece Star Trek: Nemesis It's still terrible that not everything is recovered, but now, it's safe to say Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets It is a science fiction cult classic. Despite playing to empty theaters in 2017, the film was a top performer on streaming, where it reappeared for several days in the top ten.
Break free from monochromatic science fiction
Valerian It's a very different kind of Science fiction A film that embraces the wild and wonderful side of the future, bringing to life Alpha City, a massive metropolis filled with thousands of different species and different dimensions spread across space and time. Valerian (Dane DeHaan, now known as the annoying military officer Kenneth Nichols). Oppenheimer) and Loraline (Cara Delevingne) are partners in the United Human Federation police when they are caught up in a plot to eradicate the Maul plant. And along the way there are betrayals John Goodman He voiced the most wanted criminal in the galaxy, and in the best casting ever, Rutger Hauer as the boss.
Valerian and Lauraline's adventure takes them through exotic locations that look both fantastic and awe-inspiring, proving that science fiction doesn't have to be limited to a spaceship or a replica of Earth, but can instead be real. Alien. If there's one thing the film does right that has contributed to its recent success, it's director Luc Besson, the same mad genius behind it. The fifth elementUnderstand how to create a visual scene. Then again, even though the visuals are fantastical and unlike anything from the past decade, the movie was still a box office flop, and the complete lack of chemistry between Dane and Cara is a big reason why.
Causes an error
Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne give great performances, but together, the duo has less chemistry than Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis in Jupiter Ascendantanother sci-fi flop waiting for its turn to be re-evaluated. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets It succeeds despite the two introductions on the sheer strength of the visual spectacle, and you don't even have to wait long, the opening sequence explaining how Alpha came to be does a great job of setting the right tone and explaining the high quality. Concept preparation.
Luc Besson was the perfect director for the task of adapting the French comic strip Valerian and LaurelineThis is thanks to his previous work in high-concept films The fifth element and Lucy. Both films embrace the weird side of science fiction, especially the final act Lucybut none compare to the bombardment of combat miles above the surface of an alien world atop power rigs or the frequent shots that show the true scale and wonder of Alpha. Stay for the cutscene and backtrack during the dialogue.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets Now streaming on Max.
