Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)

When Luc Besson does science fiction, I'm usually intrigued and entertained. I adore 'The Fifth Element' and even though people seem to forget that film didn't receive rave reviews at first, it has now become something of a cult classic. I believe a lot has to do with the visuals. The film looks distinct, vibrant and different and that is mostly what you remember.

That, and: "Leeloo Multipass."

Why do I bring that up? Because I firmly believe that 'Valerian' is going the same route.

The film is based on a classic comic series about Valerian and Laureline, two officers that have to solve crimes and problems across the galaxy. It turns out that here, they have to uncover a plot concerning genocide whilst traversing a massive spacestation that has grown from a single pod and just received more and more 'add-ons' if you like, until it is almost planetary in scale.

I will say up front: if you have read the comics, you have a major advantage in that you can more easily follow the story ànd understand where some characters come from. Case and point are the Doghan-Daguis, who are recurring characters in the comics, yet here they just show up without any explanation and that might feel a bit weird. On the other hand, not everything needs to be spelled out either, so there's that. But because this film tries to cram in so much, a little advance knowledge will not hurt. If you haven't read the comics, the story might feel rushed and disjointed from time to time, which is a shame, because there is a lot of good stuff to take in.

Castingwise, I'm a little divided. Valerian is a player, a suave, almost pirate like character who is overconfident in himself and a ladies' man. A lot like Han Solo, actually. Which is why I'm not really that fond of Dane DeHaan as Valerian. He looks too young and lacks that touch that makes him believable as a seducer and battle-hardened soldier. It's not the guy's fault, he will always look too young for the parts he plays, but someone more akin to a young Harrison Ford would have pulled it off better.

On the other hand, casting Cara Delevigne as Laureline was an inspired choice. She looks the part and plays it as Laureline should be played, in that she takes shit from no one. Her cynical edge works really well and she is clearly Valerian's equal in every way. Sure, they have a thing going on, but it doesn't feel too rushed as you get the sense these two have something of a history together from the very start.

But what really makes this film shine, are the visuals. Luc Besson can bring a fantastical world to life in the best possible way, and here, that works doubly so. The designs are all based on the comics and are beautifully rendered and all the different designs of aliens, spaceships, environments are wondrous and straight up beautiful. I'm not kidding: every single shot is gorgeous. Every time you rewatch this, you'll discover new things.

Is it for everyone? No. Like I said before, fans of the comics will have a distinct advantage and will like the story better because they can fill in the blank spaces themselves whilst others may find that the story is rather haphazardly thrown together. If you don't like Besson's lavish visual style (also in 'The Fifth Element'), then this will not be your cup of tea. Or if you feel nothing for science fiction. But if you want to see something that is different and a lot better than it critically got credit for, then this is your thing.