Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) - Written Review
Now, firstly, it's all about taste. Some people may have watched the trailer and thought nothing of it, and some (like myself) may have watched the trailer and really liked the look of it. The trailers are pretty good at showing the wide scope and the fun of the film. Sure, there isn't any real character depth there, and the plot is as formulaic as expected, but Valerian never aspires to achieve those aims. And, in a world in which blockbusters are regularly stripped bare in the editing room from whatever interesting character depth or plot they may have had before, I think it works well. Valerian is a summer blockbuster, and that's what it clearly wants to be.
Luc Besson is also a director I quite like. I'm not sure if he's ever made a five-star film necessarily - although I am sure to watch Leon very soon - but films like Lucy and The Fifth Element are ones that come very much from a talented filmmaker making films that he wants to see, regardless of whether that means there's a bizarre sequence involving a blue alien opera singer - and yes, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets has a sequence quite similar to that. Besson isn't interested in exploring deep complex characters or storylines as much as he wants to make fun films that people can just enjoy, and considering Oscar films now have to be dark, grim and depressing think-pieces, I think we all need more films we can just enjoy. And hey, if Valerian takes off, we might get a big European film industry!
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets follows special human agents Valerian and Laureline, who are assigned to locate a rare alien creature and return it to Alpha - the city of a thousand planets, home to thousands of various alien species. However, Valerian and Laureline soon find that a conspiracy is underfoot, and must investigate a secret at the heart of Alpha before its too late...
Luc Besson has essentially made his Star Wars here. It's a big bold space opera that even manages to top The Fifth Element in many ways. It's an adaptation of the Valerian and Laureline comic book series, which according to Besson was a huge influence on his career, and that's definitely evident. You can tell Besson has been dying to make this film for years, with the Universe explored being one of the most rich and fleshed-out that I've seen since...well, I'm not too sure - at least, for a Universe we haven't seen before (meaning that the recent Star Wars and Guardians of the Galaxy films don't technically count). Besson shoots Alpha majestically with some wonderful cinematography, bright colours and just an impeccable production design. Valerian is, frankly, a beautiful film, and I'd love to see it on an IMAX screen before it leaves cinemas.
Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevigne are really fun as our main leads, clearly loving the film they're making. Besson shows Valerian and Laureline's dynamic right from their first scene together, and in many ways its a shame the main title is just Valerian - really, this is Laureline's story too. The other cast members are all perfectly good, but honestly I didn't find any standouts. Rihanna makes a small, almost cameo appearance, and while she's good, one can't help but feel she's only there for stunt casting - and a rather bizarre dance sequence that Besson clearly had a lot of fun directing.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets has an admittedly clunky script at points, with the odd line not quite working, and some of the exposition feels like the film essentially explaining itself to the audience. That being said, Besson clearly has a talent for visual film-making, present in the opening Space Oddity sequence, and the exposition is lessened thanks to the visuals. The score by Alexandre Desplat is perfectly suitable, even if I doubt you'll be humming a particular theme, the story is fine...but its not really why you want to watch the film. The production values are stellar, and Besson really makes the most out of the recent developments in motion capture and visual effect technology. It was probably a nightmare to make, but it all looks incredible.
Overall, I personally loved Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. It's not exactly a perfect film, but it's so much fun and such a well-made project that I can't not recommend it. It might not be the best film of the year, but it's certainly one I see myself re-watching quite a bit in future. Go, support it, and hopefully we'll get more Valerian films, and European blockbusters, in the near future. 8/10
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