"Welcome to Alpha, the city of a 1,000 planets, where for hundreds of years every species has shared their knowledge and their intelligence with each other. It's paradise."
- Director: Luc Besson
- Writer: Pierre Christin & Jean-Claude Mézières (Based on the graphic novel Valerian and Laureline)
- Starring: Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne, Clive Owen. See full cast here.
- Genre: Sci-Fi, Adventure
- Rating: No curse words. There are some action and alien blood. A few sexy scenes but no sex scenes and nudity.
SYNOPSIS:
Alpha was originally a space station from earth but throughout the years, it continues to expand and now is the home of countless species from various planets. However, there is an unknown force that is trying to destroy Alpha. Therefore, it's a job for Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) to safeguard Alpha and protect the lives that call it home.
First of all, you have to know that I love sci-fi and CGI. That's why I was so excited to see this movie. However, reaching half of the movie, I found myself wishing that it would end sooner because it's rather infuriatingly boring.
What is wrong with it? Well, the most obvious con is the lack of chemistry between the two main characters, Valerian and Laureline.
I have loved Dane DeHaan since I first saw him in Chronicle. He has that sinister look and troubled teen kinda charm that I find interesting. Unfortunately, in Valerian and the City of Thousand Planets, his charms just doesn't work. The same goes to Cara Delevingne. She is supposed to be rather sassy and headstrong but Cara fails to deliver.
As I mentioned, there is no chemistry between Dane and Cara. Their characters are supposed to be intense lovers but there is no intensity. No romance between them too. The banters between them seems so scripted and any physical contact looks painfully awkward.
Adding Rihanna to the cast is also a mistake. I love her songs and dances but AAAAA she can't act! Obviously, Rihanna is in here because to promote this movie more.
The bad guys are also lame. The one that swears to kill Valerian only appear in the beginning of the movie and the main mastermind is literally asleep throughout the movie.
Besides that, there are so many missed opportunities to make this movie into a good action movie. For instance, I would love to see Valerian's battle suit to be used more in battle rather than just to crash into multiple walls. The suit looks so cool and I was hoping that he would use that super strength in a fight but no, no, no. It's only good for chasing bad guys. There is the lack of cool elements in this movie. I mean, come on. You have access to alien technology! Can't you come up with more cool weapons and stuff? Urgh.
Is there anything good about this movie? Hmm... It's hard to think of one. Well, I like the concept of Alpha. When Alpha is introduced at the start, I was like, "Damn... that's awesome."
The CGI also looks good. There are certain scenes that remind me of the movie Avatar.
All in all, this movie is rather boring for me because of the lack of chemistry between the two main characters and there is little cool factor in it. Honestly, I am quite disappointed.
2 out of 5 stars.
1 comments
The story, as far as it goes, is ok with the basic premise about an alien civilization being wiped out as a result of a war that they were not involved in. What is not explained is how the alien warships came to be within gravitational pull of an inhabited planet when in the vastness of space and time. If you actually think about it, the probability of them being there makes your chances of winning the lottery seem like shooting fish in a barrel in comparison.
ReplyDeleteTo be fully engaged in a sci-fi movie, you have to suspend your disbelief and accept the premises of the world your are viewing. With such large logical inconsistencies such as the movement of characters in the market it's difficult. In one spot in the market scene the movements in 3D space mimic the movement of the character (jumping over a vehicle) but not in others (falling down a hole). The manner in which they disregard the deaths of their fellow military members goes against all logic as well. Also not explained is how a wrecked portion of a spacecraft could survive the total destruction of a planet AND the crash and yet still be airtight and have enough atmosphere to sustain life while they learned of the systems of the space craft.
I also wonder how they manage to defy the laws of physics with the whole perl regeneration thing. The mass of the animal that duplicates the perls never diminishes, yet it can poop out perls like crazy after eating a single perl.
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