VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS B+

LOGAN AT THE MOVIES REVIEW  B+

“Valerian” is the visually spectacular new adventure film from Luc Besson, the legendary director of “The Fifth Element” and “Lucy”, based on the ground-breaking French comic book series. In the 28th century, Valerian (DaneDeHaan-“Chronical”) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne-“Suicide Squad”) are a team of spec ops in charge of keeping the peace throughout the human territories (much like Jedi). Under orders from the Minister of Defense, the two embark on a mission to the astonishing city of Alpha an ever expanding metropolis where species from all over the universe have converged over centuries to share knowledge, intelligence and cultures with each other. There is a mystery at the center of Alpha, a dark force which threatens the peaceful existence of the City of a Thousand Planets, and Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the prowling menace and protect not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.

With a budget of $210 million the film is officially the most expensive ever made in France. 20 years earlier, director Luc Besson made “The Fifth Element” (1997), which was the most expensive French movie at the time with a budget of $100 million. There are 2734 special effect shots in this movie compared to “only” 188 in ‘The Fifth Element”. It is said the main reasons the movie bombed was due to a lesser known story, no hints as to who the bad guy was (granted that would also spoil it) and the fact that the leads are not that well known.

All that a side I really enjoyed it; it’s kind of a mix between “Avatar” and “Star Wars” with its storyline, the overall look and feel of it. I don’t think people really gave it a chance, yes the leads were young but the chemistry was there just like it was with the leads in “The Fifth Element”. I believe Besson did a valiant job delivering this epic space opera to the big screen.

As for the rest of the cast Clive Owen plays the Commander who seems to be hiding something and Rihanna is Bubbles who is a shape shifter also works as a dancer apparently.

PG-13 RATING CONTENT

While this movie is PG-13 Rihanna’s dancing scene kind of pushes the rating limit, it is rather inventive (referencing to the shape shifting) and strange at the same time. The two leads are in their swim wear at the beginning of the film and just like Avatar the main alien creatures parade around in nearly nothing during their scenes. So for this one I recommend using caution in regards to the sensuality. ClearPlay does offer a filtered version through Amazon, hopefully VidAngel will to.