Valerian -- a review

Twenty years after the release of his The Fifth Element, director Luc Besson regales us with another imaginative science fiction film. But where The Fifth Element was from his own fertile imagination, Valerian and the City Of A Thousand Planets is based on a French comic book series that’s been running for half a century, now, making it older than Star Wars, and almost as old as Star Trek. Valerian was a big bomb when it was released this past August--but unlike most big-budget tent pole films that underperform at the box office, Valerian didn’t deserve to be ignored by audiences.

Starring Dane DeHaan and Carla Delevingne as a pair of interstellar space agents, Valerian is visual eye candy in the best sense of the word. Opening on the beaches of an alien planet, with a fully realized alien civilization lounging by the ocean until a cataclysmic event ruins their day, the viewer is immersed in this imaginative science fiction universe that’s just as vividly created as the Star Wars or Star Trek universes. The main plot takes place on the City of a Thousand Planets, a super massive space station that’s home to several million humans and aliens.

If this sounds like Babylon 5, or Deep Space Nine, bear in mind that this specific Valerian space station storyline had originally been published in France back in the late 1960s. It could be argued that a lot of the storylines and/or production design of many science fiction films of the last fifty years could have been borrowed, or inspired by, the original Valerian books. But as far as the Valerian film is concerned, it’s a fun, entertaining romp through a highly imaginative world that’s filled with aliens of all shapes and sizes. Besson even manages to slip in a sly jab at both consumerism and tourism during the ’big market’ section of the film, utilizing science fiction as it was originally intended for, to comment on our current society and mores.

The only downside is that the script tends to favor humor over story logic, such as when Delevingne’s Sgt. Laureline gets abducted despite wearing an armored suit that could have allowed her to fight her way out of any situation. But this also leads to a very funny confrontation later between Laureline and a female alien who’s trying to dress her up for a meeting with the king. The film’s ample charms--along with its magnificent scenery and effects--outweigh any plot holes and other quibbles. If you’re a science fiction fan looking for a fun popcorn film, look no further than Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. --SF

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