Just another dazzler

Johnson Thomas

The comic book ‘Valerian et Laureline’ created by Pierre Christin and drawn by Jean-Claude Mezieres( all of 21 volumes from 1967 to 2010), gets a cinematic lifeline in Luc Besson’s ‘Valerian and The City of a Thousand Planets.’ This one is obviously one of many more to come and it’s a dazzler no doubt. 

Set in the 28th century, year 2550, way beyond anything imagined so far, in a sort of going beyond Star Wars effort, Besson pulls out all the stops to showcase a vigorously vibrant and colourful world of ideas that unfortunately don’t go any further than the pages it once enhanced.

The minister of defense(Herbie Hancock) commissions two special operatives Valerian(Dane DeHaan) and Laureline(Cara Delevingne), for a intergalactic intelligence mission to save Alpha- a multi-cultural, multi racial metropolis invaded by a dark force that threatens to destroy the peaceful city and the entire universe in the bargain. It’s always the same load of crap in different forms I guess.   

This is Besson’s show-piece effort and he is obviously in show-off mode trying to outdo every great sci-fi filmmaker history has known. And in tech-smarts with millions of dollars at his command, he certainly makes his mark. It’s the narrative impetuosity that puts paid to any deeper affect though.

The movie experience is not all that satisfying. For one, the lead cast, 20 something lean and skilled, brown and blonde haired duo, don’t even look remotely like the more mature black haired he-man and luscious red head duo depicted in the comic book. 

Also, the narrative goes all over the place trying to outdo every sci-fi actioner seen before – so what you get is largely a mish-mash of genre types. It is appealing nevertheless, for its exquisitely enticing CGI and motion capture incandescence. There’s beauty in the visuals but the impact is immediate, not long lasting.

This overly ornate sci-fi attempt does manage to create some interest with its entertaining dialogues and the sparkling chemistry between its leads. The romance between them in fact has more lasting power than the hi-tech glitz on show here. The special effects overshadow every other aspect of the film including story, plot and performances.

Rihanna gets an eye-popping cameo that lasts much longer than necessary and there are amiable characters galore that catch the eye but fail to stay memorable. In fact most of the talent on show here have little to do other than mark their presence in a possible franchise overture. At 137 minutes, it’s also a little too long in the tooth to be consistently sufferable.

The tech hi-jinks may herald Besson as the next big thing on the sci-fi horizon but the lack of soul in the presentation of it is terribly belittling. This is a classic case of arrested evolution...what a pity!