Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Dir: Luc Besson

2017

****

While Luc Besson's hotly anticipated Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets isn't perfect, there is something irresistibly charming about those imperfections. It's been slated by many critics in the pockets of Hollywood studios, they feared that the film - which is a French production - would hit their summer 2017 releases but it seems their criticism (before the film even opened) worked as the film has had a poor opening week but friends, I would ask that you reconsider. Firstly, if you have ever read Pierre Christin and artist Jean-Claude Mézières's Valérian and Laureline comics you will know that this is a breathtakingly authentic adaptation. If anything seems familiar, and much of it does, it's because Christin and Mézières's classic comic started way back in the 60s and has leaked into nearly every sci-fi adventure made since - both in the comic world and in cinema. Luc Besson has always wanted to make a Valérian and Laureline film but never thought it possible, the effects needed didn't exist and even if they did, they'd be too expensive. He released The Fifth Element in 1997, a whole two decades before Valerian, he asked Jean-Claude Mézières to work on the film and the illustrator said to him then "Why are you doing this shitty film? Why you don't do Valerian?". Besson felt that The Fifth Element was as close as he'd ever get, until James Cameron released Avatar. People are bound to think that Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is an Avatar rip off but it isn't, it's the other way around. It's like John Carter of Mars all over again. While watching Valerian I couldn't help but think of each of the Star Wars films, Farscape, Avatar, Futurama and of course The Fifth Element. So it should be known that; the production design departments for each and every Star Wars film had a copy of Mézières's Valérian albums and referred to them as 'Bibles', Rockne S. O'Bannon, creator of Farscape once listed Jean-Claude Mézières as one of his role models, in 1994 James Cameron wrote an 80-page treatment for Avatar, drawing inspiration from "every single science fiction book" he had read in his childhood including Valérian and Laureline; Matt Groening is a massive nerd. So to be clear, this isn't a copy of other people ideas but a pure adaptation, made with love, respect and plenty of self-indulgence. Now, for self-indulgence to be a good thing (and it rarely is) you need two factors to be true; the director needs to be of a high calibre with a definite style to their work and the viewer need to like the directors said style. In the case of Luc Besson, I say the more self-indulgent the better. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is a visual feast for sci-fi fans and everyone who loves the experience of cinema. I didn't watch it in 3D because I'm not a fan of it but the 2D version is still incredible. The production is glorious, everything looks amazing, from the creature design to the costumes. I also like the mix of high and low tech, very much Mézières's style. The concept is also the stuff of sci-fi greatness, the scenes involving inter-dimensional tourism is outstanding, easy to follow and such an incredible idea. Not an easy concept to translate to the screen either but Besson does it and makes it look easy. It scene like these that make the film so good, although not all of the special effects are great. I have to admit it took me a good fifteen minutes to warm to it. The opening scene on the planet Mül looked like a green-screen nightmare. It looked like a cross between a Yes album cover and a bad episode of Lexx (not that there is such a thing as a bad episode of Lexx). I didn't like it, it was too bubble gum, too simple and too....Avatar. Thankfully it got much better. I also didn't warm to the film's two lead characters; Valérian and Laureline, which was a problem. However, Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne soon won me over, I like his voice (and really liked him in Life) and Delevingne proved herself to be more than just a pair of big eyebrows. That said, the film could have done with a lot less Rihanna. Ethan Hawke didn't bring much to the either and I can think of many actors better suited to Clive Owen's character. Rutger Hauer and John Goodman's appearances were criminally short but the addition of Herbie Hancock as the Defence Minister was something of a treat. Indeed, Besson invited quite a few of his friends to star in space opera, including directors Louis Leterrier (Incredible Hulk, Now You See Me) and Olivier Megaton (Colombiana, Taken 2, Taken 3) and many French cast and crew members from previous projects. It almost makes the film feel like a party. I think the idea of the City of a Thousand Planets has longevity, the idea that Alpha, a space station where millions of creatures from different planets live peacefully and exchange their knowledge and cultures could bring a multitude of stories - indeed, it has in the comics - that could become something of an epic movie franchise. This was a great story to start with, I just didn't think much of the opening scene or the introduction of the main characters. The crux of the story is a bit simple and familiar sounding but it is the little adventures that make the film what it is. The bare-bones of any sci-fi is unremarkable, it's all about character development and iconic visuals that make them hits, and I think City of a Thousand Planets ticks most of the boxes. The opening montage of the space station growing was lovely, it just could have been longer. Certain characters looked important and then vanished, maybe to be revisited in a later film, but at times the film felt overly busy in places where is should have been simple, and a bit simple where it could have done with some detail. However, there is something charming about it being imperfect. The original Star Wars films were imperfect and that is one of the reasons why we loved them and why people protested the updated versions. The Phantom Menace was highly polished and everyone hated it. The big question most people are asking is whether it is as good as The Fifth Element. I can't answer that really, they're both similar and different. I love The Fifth Element, even with its imperfections (The Diva song, Chris Tucker's Ruby Rhod), it is again these imperfections that people love about it. It's camp, cartoonish, a little silly and a bit all over the place. I would go as far to say that if you liked The Fifth Element then you'll probably like Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets but just try not to compare the two too much, just sit back and enjoy it. Indeed, that is all I can say to everyone, forget what you've been told, know that it really isn't copying other sci-fi films, and enjoy it (or not) for its own merits. I admit, for most of the film I was thinking 'I love that bit, although if it was me, I'd do it slightly differently' but it certainly captivated me. It isn't all special effects and no content, be assured of that. I would have liked to have seen a more eclectic mix of cast, like the Fifth Element had and I would have rethought the look of planet Mül but apart from that, and a bit of re-casting, I thought it was great the way it was. A series of films telling different stories around Alpha would be a dream come true, I'm behind Besson on this all the way.

Subway
Dir: Luc Besson
1985
*****
What I love about Luc Besson's Subway is that it can never be remade, it's an original that can't be touched, from an era that I feel can never be mimicked. It's part of the Cinema du look school of film making as coined by critic Rapael Bassan. Bassan suggested that Subway, as well as Besson's Nikita and works by Jean-Jacques Beineix and Leos Carax were part of a movement exclusive to French cinema in the mid-eighties that saw directors favour style over substance and spectacle over narrative. I agree that there is a unique similarity in the each director's portrayal of the marginalized youth in Mitterrand's France, all films are stylishly filmed, feature social outcasts, doomed love affairs and sub-culture and indeed, all films share a common scene involving the Paris Metro in someway but I would argue that there is plenty of substance to them. The film's meaning is subjective, it is obviously influenced by films such as The French Connection and A bout de souffle and features many trends of the time but each character represents something different, their actions and traits symbolizing various different aspects of sub-culture and new age thinking. It's a neon spectacular with synth and drum machines. A classic slice of underground meets mainstream in 80's Paris. It's stunning, chaotic and simplistic in equal measure and effortlessly cool, even thirty years later.

Lucy
Dir: Luc Besson
2014
****
Lucy is, in my opinion, the first real Luc Besson style Luc Besson film since his beautiful 2005 romance, Angel-A. It's Luc Besson director and it is also Luc Besson writer/producer, as it feels like the complete package - his masterpieces of the 80's and 90's and the action packed thrillers he wrote and produced in the 00's. It didn't received particularly favorable reviews upon its initial release but I think this is down to people overlooking the fact that this is a science fiction story, with fiction being the key word. I loved the idea, even when it got a little silly and over the top. The script was impressive and pretty convincing too, Besson is such a good writer that he can nonsense sound plausible. Scarlett Johansson had a good year, she's great here too and I hope she and Besson work together again (his new Nikita?). So Besson got his brain percentages wrong, big deal, I like a director with original, strange and impossible ideas, Lucy is completely nuts but I think it would have been a horrible film if it had tried to be the least bit sensible and actually, it's not all dumb, I found all lot of it to be thought-provoking and inspired.

The Extraordinary Adventures Of Adele Blanc-Sec
Dir: Luc Besson
2010
****
I absolutely love Jacques Tardi and his series The Extraordinary Adventures Of Adele Blanc-Sec and when I heard that the great Luc Besson was set to make a live action feature adaptation I had a little nerdgasm. To my relief, Besson's The Extraordinary Adventures Of Adele Blanc-Sec is a great adventure film, not a 100% adaptation but thankfully not an over the top Hollywood production. I was also glad to see that it was more for adults than children, as it should be (although I loved it as a child). It was about bloody time Luc Besson made another live action film and I really hope that this is the first of many adventure films based on the fantastic character, Adele Blanc-Sec - played wonderfully by the very beautiful Louise Bourgoin. It's a bit like Indiana Jones meets The Mummy but directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (and much better than The Mummy). I can see a bit of Besson's usual style here but I wouldn't say it was obvious that it's one of his films, indeed, this is a Tardi production. It's great to see a graphic artist's work respected and it's great that Besson is back in the game and long may they both continue - although I'm baffled as to why this film has been so overlooked!? Definitely worth checking out, I really was pleasantly surprised by it and entertained (thrilled) throughout.

The Lady
Dir: Luc Besson
2011
**
Luc Besson is a great director but this film lacks the passion it deserves. I'm afraid he has done Aung San Suu Kyi a great injustice by making a half-hearted biopic of her life. Unless of coarse it was his intention of making a film about the life of her husband, then he did a pretty good job as David Thewlis's Michael Aris took up most of the film - the camera often hanging on him for embarrassing lengths of time for a credible director. For all the great moments in this film, and there are a few, there are three times as many pointless, ill-conceived and ridiculous ones. I love David Thewlis but Besson does not get his potential out of him, the two actors playing their sons can't act for candy and poor Michelle Yeoh isn't given the chance to play, what could have been, the performance of her life. For what little screen time she is given, she does a great job but what Aung San Suu Kyi did for Burma is barely hinted at in this mess of a film.

The Family
Dir: Luc Besson
2013
***
The Family feels very much like a cross between what you'd expect from a Luc Besson produced film and a Luc Besson directed film. I liked the premise; the ongoing struggles of an ex-Mobster and his family in a witness protection program. It's a comedy of sorts but not the dreadful bumbling spoof you might think. It's no masterpiece either though but pleasantly quirky and original enough to not fit into any one category comfortably. It's a film of performances rather than story, which works pretty well. Each family member has their arc but nothing too complicated but then nothing too ridiculous or contemptuous either. Drama, comedy and action are in unison with each other which doesn't usually work but this is where Besson plays to his strengths. That said, one does have to ask whether the action is there to perk up the lack of drama or consistency of comedy. I like it but I'm used to it now from him, he's still a director I love but I'm sorry to say this is nothing compared to his earlier work.