And this inventively whimsical vision is brilliantly photographed by long-time collaborator Thierry Arbogast ( Lucy, 3 Days to Kill), turning what could have been a far worse film into a tolerably elaborate curiosity.
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As if from the feverish revelry of a lunatic talking to himself at a park bench, the movie is essentially a cavalcade of bizarre, wacky creatures brought to life thanks to some incredibly talented computer animators and stage designers. The wildly imaginative visuals, reminiscent of the eye-catching spectacle of The Fifth Element, is ultimately the production's winning charming. It may seem as though I'm harshly hating on Valerian, but, truth be told, I was surprisingly entertained by this silly sci-fi adventure despite its many glaring issues. The story is largely, if not entirely, motivated by several much-too-convenient plot devices.
The central premise of uncovering the truth behind a believed extinct species of primitive aliens is largely driven by coincidences, little blunders, and various flukes. It's worth noting the pair inadvertently stumble upon the mystery by sheer happenstance rather than clever detective work, exposing another troubling drawback of the film. All the while, we're meant to believe the two soldiers are simultaneously solving a massive government conspiracy. The chemistry between the two is so wide and empty, the International Space Station, which has evolved into a gigantic space-traveling city, could comfortably park betwixt them. Throughout the film's 137-minute runtime, Delevingne is better at being more visibly frustrated taking orders from her pretentious ranking officer than she is at feigning a love interest. Unfortunately, this back and forth romance between the two young actors further fails in the flat, dead-eyed performance of model-turned-actress Delevingne, who was more effective under layers of makeup and CGI as Enchantress in Suicide Squad. Basically, Valerian's pompous boasting and self-importance comes off as artificial, more of a charlatan than a praiseworthy hero. And no offense to DeHaan since he typically delivers a good performance, but he doesn't exactly have the screen presence or even the natural charm to make the character believable. Granted, it's easy to see where Besson, who also wrote the script, is going with this - a sadly clichéd trope for a predictable character development - the first mark on a checklist of several flaws. And given the recent news about inappropriate conduct that's been fermenting throughout Hollywood, this character trait is hardly an endearing quality most audiences would want to champion at the moment. Only, here, we are told the latter refuses the aggressive advances of the former because he's a near-narcissistic, monogamy-hating womanizer. The plot revolves around the clumsy, awkward romance of the two leads, Major Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Sergeant Laureline (Cara Delevingne). Moreover, Valerian is, to some degree, a blend of those aforementioned movies, arguably Besson's two best-known features.
A significant, if not also major difference, is the production being based on the French sci-fi comics, which are obviously not popular or really even known in the U.S., presumably from Besson's childhood, making it one of the most expensive pet projects ever brought to fruition. Ultimately, time favored those movies, and I have a sneaking suspicion the same could happen to this one. Rather, Besson's latest actioner, which bombed at the worldwide box office, was welcomed with a generally lukewarm reception, similar to those movies except this one hardly received the same level of praise. But that's not to say this sci-fi adventure flick is nearly as good as either of those, both of which have rightly earned their cult classic status. Frankly, the entire production shares familiar trappings to two other dearly-beloved Luc Besson favorites: The Fifth Element and Léon: The Professional. While I readily admit the following statement is much too soon of a prediction to be making, I'm willing to wager Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets could potentially find a cult following.