Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets - Epically pretty but equally messy.

This movie, based upon a series of French comic books titled "Valerian and Laureline" written by Pierre Christin and illustrated by Jean-Claude Mezieres, comes to us curtesy of writer/director Luc Besson, the guy who made "The Fifth Element". Much like the aforementioned film this new one is also a veritable treasure chest of science fiction. It's got tons of unique aliens, awesome technology and fantastical worlds that could only be realized with modern technology. The designs and concepts that are on display in this film all give an aura of passion and love for the craft of strange and new worlds and ideas. It is the perfect kind of material that only someone like Besson could deliver to the big screen. I just really wish that he did so with a more critical eye of his script and his casting.

Starting with the script. Not having read any of the aforementioned comic books I cannot attest to this films accuracy to the source material. Nor should I, as I am a firm believer that a film must be judged on its own merits alone and not the merits of its faithfulness to source material or lack there of. Anyway, this script tells the story of two main characters. Valerian (played by Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (played by Cara Delevingne), who are both soldiers of the human military that protects a massive space station known as Alpha. A planet sized space station comprised of millions of people and thousands of different species and races. All of whom have gathered together at this station to share their collected knowledge and resources. While returning home from a mission their commander is abducted and taken into the Red Zone, a sectioned off area of the station due to a supposed radiation leak. Our two heroes must find and rescue the commander all while trying to solve the mystery of an unknown alien species that, not only may be connected to the commanders capture, but may also be the answer to an even greater threat.

The story is great. It has a good commentary on the human condition as all good science fiction usually does, and takes place in a world filled to the brim with fantastic elements the likes of which haven't been brought to the big screen in a long time. Sadly, that is also part of the films problem. It has so much stuff to show us, so many places to go to, and so much stuff to establish  that at least two thirds of the dialogue spoken by our main characters, as well as some of the supporting cast, is just exposition. At one point it even uses the much hated "as you know" phrase. Which, anyone who knows anything about scriptwriting will tell you, is a lazy and nonsensical method of exposition. If the characters already know what you're talking about, why are you giving them this information again?

This overly crowded script also affects some of the supporting cast, most of which are very interesting characters who not only deserve more time in the spotlight, but also could very easily have their own spin-off story. One character in particular named Bubble (played by Rihanna) is a supporting character who only has at most 15 minutes of screen time, and even then, not until the tail end of the second act. Bubble is a Jellyfish kind of alien that can change her shape and voice much like Mystique from "The X-Men". Only difference is that her character is a young aspiring performer/actress, who has been forced into working as an exotic dancer, utilizing her morphing ability to become any and all kind of fetishes for customers. As such she has a major identity crisis where she, in her own words, "finds it hard to live a life with an identity that is not her own." I'm pretty sure I'm paraphrasing there.

My point is that this character has a lot of texture that could have been more or at least better explored in this film. She could have even been introduced earlier in the film and had a more satisfying character arc. Instead she becomes one of many ideas that have a lot of potential but are not given enough time to develop and build interest with. I admit that maybe part my feelings about this character stem from appreciating that she was played by someone who was really putting in the effort to play the character as opposed to our two leads. Which brings me to the next main problem with the film.

The two leading actors, Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne are HORRIBLE actors. Neither of these two can carry a scene, portray an emotion other than stoic, deliver a line of dialogue with conviction or even smile. Also, when they do smile, it's never genuine. It feels so forced and uncomfortable like they're a pair of robots TRYING to mimic human speech and behavior. Combine that with the fact that they clearly don't have any chemistry at all on screen and it becomes really had to get invested in these characters. I know that this film is more about the fantastic visuals and the massive world it's creating, both of which are very well done and wonderful to see and worth exploring, but just not with these two lead characters if they're being played by such empty vessels.

Cara Delevingne especially is just an absolute bore to watch. She's asked to carry a big chunk of the films emotional weight with her character and she just can't do it at all. I hate to call it out like this because I really don't want to come off as a sexist bully but there's simply no denying that this young lady simply can't act. She looks gorgeous and I'm sure that she is a fantastic professional when it comes to modeling (which is her real profession) but that doesn't make her capable of playing a character, let alone provide any emotional weight to the story.

Oh, and the biggest problem with these two actors...THEY'RE TOO YOUNG!!! Based purely on their dialogue and how it's established that these two characters have known each other and have been working together for as long as they claim, given how both of these actors are clearly in their mid 20s or very early 30s it becomes very hard to believe anything about their history. Unless they started working together in the military when they were in elementary school. These characters really called for a pair of more seasoned actors. Like, this movie might have made more sense if they had cast Jeremy Renner and Amy Adams. Both of whom look more these parts and, as demonstrated in "Arrival", are capable of portraying chemistry on screen. Plus, Amy Adams is fantastic at carrying emotional weight to a story.

However, despite my personal issues with this film, it is still a fantastic experience that I would recommend seeing in theaters. I have it on reasonably good authority that this film, flaws and all, will likely dictate the kind of movies we can expect from Hollywood for the next ten years. If this movie does not do well enough at the box office, we may never see more original and unusual concepts like this ever again. Instead we will likely be barraged with sequels, prequels, remakes, reboots, re-imagenings and superhero movies. And as much as I enjoy superhero movies, I really don't want them to become the absolute dominate blockbuster for the next ten years.

Therefore, I would still encourage you to see this movie if only for the wonderful experience it provides. It must be seen in theaters to be believed. Just try to pretend the two leads are played by better actors. It'll help.

Ladies and Genelman, I am TheNorm, telling you when Hollywood gets things wrong and when they get things right. Thank you for reading.