Film Review: Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)

Future imperfect . . .

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (12A)

Starring: Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne

Director: Luc Besson

The Plot: It's the 28th Century, and a former human space station called Alpha has become a sprawling megalopolis that houses thousands of different alien species living in harmony with mankind. Major Valerian (DeHaan) and Sergeant Laureline (Delevingne), agents for the station's government and partners in more way than one, are ordered to recover a very small, very valuable alien creature - a creature that, they discover, is a link to a grand conspiracy masking the genocide of a peaceful species and a threat right at the heart of Alpha.

Review: I am, 100%, the target audience for this film (which, for your sanity and mine, I'll just refer to as Valerian rather than its full title), being as I'm both a sci-fi geek and a huge fan of Luc Besson. The French director is, in my opinion, someone who the term "visionary" truly belongs to, because the scope of his imagination seems to hold no bounds, no matter what his involvement in a project is, be it writing, directing, or producing. I'm not saying everything he touches turns to gold, far from it - look at Lucy, 3 Days to Kill or The Transporter Refueled in recent years - but when you consider that this man brought us Leon, The Fifth Element and the stunning Angel-A, he's the perfect choice for this.

You more than likely won't have heard of Valerian and Laureline, the French comic-book series that serves as the source material for this film. Hugely popular in France, where it ran from 1967-2010, it's fair to say that it's not very well known outside of its home country, although there's an argument that it has influenced many artists and films around the world, which I won't get into. Besson is a huge fan of the series and has said that it's been his dream for many years to make it into a film - The Fifth Element itself was something of his homage to it back in 1997- and it's only with recent advances in technology that he felt it was possible to bring it to life on the big screen. He's made some changes here, not least of which with the title - French fans were, so I read, very angry at the dropping of "and Laureline" because of her popularity. In the comics Valerian and Laureline are time-travellers (or "spatio-temporal agents"), with Laureline herself originally being an 11th-century peasant girl that Valerian brings back to the 28th century with him, and the pair travel through space and time protecting it from temporal anomalies. Time-travel has been ditched for the film, with Valerian and Laureline now generic "agents" (albeit with ranks) who seem to serve as a kind of galactic police force. Also, RIP Laureline's red hair.

The film is being heavily promoted as "the 3D event of the year." I must admit that I didn't watch it in 3D, for two reasons:

1. I find that 3D spoils the overall presentation of a film, often making it blurry and difficult to follow what's going on, particularly in action sequences
2. I look and feel like a fucking tit putting a second pair of glasses on over my own

I can confirm, however, that 2D is perfectly fine and you don't lose any impact of what is, hands down, one of the most visually spectacular films I've ever seen. The sheer scope and scale of Valerian's universe and the denizens that inhabit it is mind-boggling, and the combination of motion capture, pure CGI and prosthetic effects used here makes The Fifth Element look small in comparison. It's understandable why Besson previously thought it couldn't be done. From the opening scene where we witness a beautiful oceanic planet home to the peaceful aliens called Pearls, whose semi-transulcent skin glows with different colours depending on their mood, to the sprawling technological wonder of Alpha with its endless self-contained environments, this is an exquisite treat for your eyeballs. It's pure sci-fi and fantasy, and makes no apologies for it. There are really no words I can say to do it justice, but it is, unfortunately, the film's high point.

I like Dane DeHaan. I think he's a fantastic actor, and everything that I've seen him in up until now has been impressive. How sad then, that he proves to be the weakest link of this film. There's just something about him, as Valerian, that doesn't feel quite right, and a lot of that blame can be laid at the feet of the script. Valerian just isn't written very well: he's alternately portrayed as both a stoic soldier who's determined to see the law be upheld, and a cocky ladies man who can't commit to something serious. DeHaan doesn't suit either of these personas and it shows, making it hard to get behind Valerian (despite some herioc moments, such as an exciting chase sequence where he smashes through different sections of Alpha in his exo-suit), especially in the scenes where he "playfully" flirts with Laureline and just comes off as an arrogant prick. This spoils what's obviously intended to be an important aspect of the story - their relationship. They begin the film as a couple, and a running plot thread is Valerian trying to get Laureline to accept his marriage proposal, but when he acts the way he does it's hard to see why she's even with him in the first place.

Delevingne, on the other hand, is the polar opposite of this and gives the best performance of the film. Laureline is smart, kick-ass and isn't afraid to speak her mind, even if it goes against the laws that she and Valerian are upholding. Delevingne attacks the role with gusto and is clearly having a whale of a time, and Laureline comes across as a far more engaging and sympathetic character than Valerian. She does her best with the relationship, continuously rejecting Valerian's proposal until he's finally ready to drop his cocky persona and take things seriously, but again the script is what both she and DeHaan struggle against in these scenes.

A quick note on the supporting cast: Clive Owen features as the Commander of the goverment forces and chews the scenery wherever he goes, given nothing to do other than be an entirely obvious villain. Ethan Hawke gamely channels his effeminate side as a character called "Jolly the Pimp", and pop superstar Rihanna appears as a shape-changing alien called Bubble. Her introductory sequence is visually stunning as she morphs into various personas, and her character does provide some laughs as Valerian uses her rather inventively to sneak into an alien area to rescue Laureline. She does fine.

I've said before that actors can only work with the script they're given, and the script for Valerian is a big problem. Written by Besson, it's largely responsible for the aforementioned issues with Valerian's character but there are other issues as well. There are huge plot holes scattered here, there, and everywhere; it's a rambling story as well, clocking in at almost two hours and twenty minutes, and could easily have been trimmed down. I get the sense that Besson just wanted to include as much as he possibly could, no matter how much it would detract from the overall story. It's a shame, as this is a fun and exciting film, but it could have been so much better.     

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
A mixed bag of a film: this is a visually astonishing, fun and action-packed piece of science fiction, that's unfortunately hampered by a rambling script that's full of plot holes and paints an unflattering picture of its title character. One for fans of sci-fi only, or those willing to look past the flaws to appreciate the sheer scale of the spectacle on display.