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Comments 1 - 15 of 24
TheOnlyRogueAngel
Visually, this is a feast of glorious proportions... as long as you don't worry too much about the story line, and the cringe-worthy 'romance' that was made even more cringe-worthy by the unlikely hero... while the heroine was far more likely... this movie should have been titled Laureline and the City of a Thousand Planets.beasterne
Dane DeHaan is so miscast in this movieSiskoid
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets has a brilliant opening and an exciting climax, but it loses itself in the middle there, for reasons I will shortly disclose. Let it be said that far from a CG mess, Valerian is principally about evoking scope, a whole universe of detail one cannot apprehend in a single viewing, brilliant in its imagination, with a solid plot that's partway between mystery and action epic, with the comics series' liberalism at the core of its dilemmas. But it lacks rhythm. The pacing is so off as to take away its required sense of urgency, and the jokes fall as flat as a pancake. While tighter editing could be indicated, a large part of the fault lies at the lead actors' feet (at some of the guest stars as well - compare Ethan Hawke's lusty performance to Rihanna's flat reading, for the exception then the rule) who needed to be a lot better to get the space opera dialog and the humor to work. Valerian and Laureline's comics personalities are undersold so that when they actually come to the forefront, they seem to contradict what has gone before, and I'm afraid Cara Delevingne really has none of the charm of her comic book counterpart, instead playing the adventure as jaded and irritated. Even if you don't know the originals, this is, to be sure, the wrong attitude to get the audience on board. Valerian's first, and likely last, cinematic outing frustrates not because it is bad, but because it is ALMOST good.chunkylefunga
Visually stunning but that's really the only highlight.The script gets weaker as the movie goes along and Dane DeHaan could not be more miscast in this movie. He 100% cannot pull off a bad boy/cool adventurer role.
This is the second movie I've seen Delevingne in and I've yet to see her actually act. Very wooden and scripted performance. Also terrible for romantic scenes.
samoan
Overall I enjoyed this movie. The opening of the move as others pointed out is fantastic. Lots of really cool aliens and scenes. A good mix of comedy, action, and entertainment. However, the biggest problem with the film is Dane DeHaan, as others pointed out he is horribly miscast in the role of Valerian. Which is really unfortunate as if it wasn't for him, this could have been great. His attempt at a raspy bad boy voice is just annoying and sounds like he smoked too many cigarettes. Instead of coming across like a cocky bad boy, he just comes across as a huge asshole that needs to attend sexual harassment training. Cara Delevingne is ok in the film, her scenes with Dane where they are kinda flirting is horribly awkward, mostly due to his terrible lines and delivery. Dane does a better job in the scenes where he has no dialogue.Overall the movie is better than the reviews lead you to believe and with a better lead actor, it could have been a truly fun and great Sci-fi film. Perhaps I enjoyed it due to expecting it to be unwatchably bad as the reviews claim, but the film does have it's charm and fun scenes. Even if the plot is predictable, it was never dull or boring. There were also lots of fun supporting characters.
Worth a rental. Available on Prime.
xortuna
By no way a bad film, visually its broad range of technology, aliens and scenery make this very easy to sit though the 2 hour run time.Whilst the 'main' plot is thin, it is distracted from via side plots enough you don't feel too disappointed at the end, whilst serving as opportunities for world building.
My main critique would defiantly be the casting of Valerian and perhaps Laureline, they lack the chemistry needed to pull off the love arc of the story. I cant help but feel a straight bad boy for Valerian would of been infinitely better than the awkard/badboy mutation we got.
Overall worth a watch if you were interested but put off by the critics panning of it.
the_queen_n00b
This movie could have been so much better. The setting and world-building is good, it looks great, but the story makes no sense at all, the romance is cringey, and the acting is a mixed bag. Basically a worse version of avatar.BadFluffy
Dumbed down the plot of the comics to a point it's barely recognizable. With all the money thrown at the screen, the only thing the movie really achieves is proving that no matter how pretty the special effects are, nothing makes up for bad (make that appalling) casting and lousy writing.ikkegoemikke
“It’s our mission that doesn’t make sense, sir.”After watching “Valerian and the City of a thousand planets” I can imagine how someone sees his surroundings while being under the influence of psychedelics. This SF-opera based on a comic is a cacophony of surrealistic and grotesque images from an immeasurable universe where all sorts of extraterrestrials make their appearance. Believe me, it really didn’t take long before I realized I no longer knew what it was about. The only thing left for me was to lay down in my cozy couch and marvel at the spectacle Luc Besson fabricated.
Visually, this SF is really overwhelming. Color tones splashing off the screen. And an infinite collection of aliens. Already during the opening scene you get a concatenation of delegations arriving at the space station Alpha. Then the spectacle moves to the planet Mül inhabited by a peaceful civilization whose daily life consists of strolling over idyllic-looking beaches with a deep blue ocean and producing magical spheres which have an unseen power. The image of a sensual extraterrestrial beauty (who wouldn’t look bad on the centerfold of an alien nude magazine) is in stark contrast with the images of destruction of this planet afterwards. And so it goes from a virtual market in a cork-dry desert, with a trillion bazaars and shops you can only see and touch with the help of a special helmet and gloves, to the bizarre space station Alpha. A place with more than 3000 life forms living in different territories, each with their own specific characteristics and expertise.
I don’t know how many parts there are from the French comic book Valerian, but it seems as if Besson attempted to put the entire series in one film. The different characters and side-plots follow each other with a breathtaking speed. In such a way that you go from one surprise to the next. Perhaps the aim is to use this oversupply together with the sensational visual material, to divert our attention from the simple storyline. The story itself is far from impressive. I’m not a connoisseur when it comes to the stories about Valerian. That’s why I thought it was rather confusing after a while. The storyline remained disappointingly minimalistic, despite the huge budget.
The biggest mistake Besson surely made, was the choice of actors responsible for the roles of Major Valerian and Sergeant Laureline. Was it the intention to create cartoonish characters? Well, he succeeded in that. For the rest, I thought they were annoying and childish and they didn’t have the looks of real heroes. Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne look like two minors who ended up in a loaded, mature story. A sort of Willy and Wanda saving the universe. That’s why the so-called romantic part, full of flirtation and nonsense about commitments and being faithful, doesn’t come across as credible. I’m not claiming that they are bad actors because DeHaan was formidable in “A cure for Welness“. And Delevingne’s interpretation in “Paper Towns” was of a different caliber.
“Valerian” looks like a mishmash of fragments taken from other large-scale SF epics. Everyone will notice something that looks familiar to him. It sometimes looks like a futuristic painting full of bombastic elements. The images vary from “Star Wars“-like to that of a PC game. The view of the planet Mül, for example, resembled that of what I saw in “Myst”. An old PC adventure game I used to play ages ago. But titillating images aren’t good enough to call a film successful. You can compare “Valerian and the city of a Thousand Planets” with an amusement park with an abundance of attractions. It’s fun to be there and you’re trying to do as much as possible, but afterwards you’re stuck with a feeling of disappointment because you haven’t been able to fully experience it all. And this thanks to the overwhelming (and exagerated) number of activities.
More reviews here
Sylaeon
Visually a great show, and I like the fact heroes are a real complementary couple, which is a quite rare thing. Behind the mainstream & familial blockbuster, there are some interesting thematics which are usually away from that format : Bio and societies diversity, confrontations between society high morals and the warcrimes they have done, feminism... Even, if it's just thematics, with not a lot of deepness, it's there.Alec Chalmers
Agree with the comments about DeHaan. The movie isn't as terrible people are making out though.If you're a fan of all that French sci-fi stuff from the 70's, like Fantastic Planet, then look no further.Francesco Leoni
Bluntly, rather than a movie this seems a 2 hours and something long error. Predictable plot, dull characters, cheesy CG, rough editing...man, I wonder how could they allow that. No wonder it was a huge flop.Dr No
Better than any of the Disney/Marvel trash and any superhero stuff trash that came out recently, that includes Star Wars & Star Trek. Awaiting your down votes!Slylingual24
A simple story wrapped in gorgeous paper. Cara gives us her best performance to date. And while I might be in the minority here, I think Dane DeHaan did a rather good job fitting into his role. Sometimes a 'larger than life presence' isn't necessary. This movie isn't the mess critics seem to be painting it as.nowhereman136
it was good, but the plot could have been streamlined better7/10
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