Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets

Here's a question: As the two sci-fi freakouts seemingly share so many similarities, why does Luc Besson's The Fifth Element continue to delight two decades down the line while his new film Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets is pretty much a non-starter?

Well, much of it has to do with the main characters - and the people portraying them - that steer us through the story.

The Fifth Element has Bruce Willis when he was giving a damn and a revelatory Milla Jovovich giving her all, not to mention Gary Oldman entertainingly chewing all the scenery he can sink his teeth into. The goodies and baddies are archetypal but they're also interesting, and the actors have charisma to spare.

Valerian… on the other hand has DiCaprio knockoff Dane DeHaan and surly supermodel Cara Delevingne as its heroes. Individually, their screen presence here is second-rate. Together, their chemistry is non-existent. Not exactly the dynamic duo you want to rely on to save the day, especially when they're investigating a conspiracy that will supposedly bring about the demise of Alpha, the titular city of a thousand planets (that actually resembles a galactic junk pile) where multiple alien races live side-by-side in harmony.

Partners professionally and personally, DeHaan's Valerian and Delevingne's Laureline are 28th century peace officers engaging in what's supposed to be fun, flirtatious banter as they track down the kidnapped Commander Filitt (Clive Owen). But as they traipse from gaudy realm to gaudy realm, they discover there's a secret behind Filitt's abduction that could jeopardise the safety and stability of Alpha.

There's a sweet sincerity wrapped up in that secret, and it's the kind of sincerity that makes Besson a worthwhile artist and storyteller, even he stumbles or fumbles the way he does with Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets. And even when the audience isn't compelled to take the predictable path he's laying down or follow the lacklustre likes of Valerian and Laureline, there are still flashes of energy, imagination and joyous weirdness that provide a pleasing jolt.

In this movie's case, it pops up in a scene where Valerian crashes at full speed through a succession of Alpha's many different environments, giving us a brief glimpse at the wonders of each world. Or in the appearance of a merrily overacting Ethan Hawke and a slinky, seductive Rihanna as a pair of shady characters from the wrong side of the galaxy roped into helping our heroes.

Besson clearly wants to take viewers on a magic carpet ride with this adaptation of a popular French sci-fi comic series. But while Valerian's trappings are gorgeous, its fundamentals - an engaging story with interesting lead characters - are faulty beyond repair.