Review of Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) by Lee J — 20 Jul 2017

This movie is proof I do not understand my fellow human beings. Who could hate this movie?

The majority of negative reviews I've read claim the movie is visually impressive but there isn't much else there. This had me thinking the plot was either nonexistent or just plain bad. It is neither. There is an interesting main story and they get sidetracked a few times which leads to more adventure.

I've read it was a confusing jumbled mess. Maybe they just weren't paying attention or were distracted by all the sights and sounds because I had no problem following exactly what was going on and was thoroughly entertained at all times. Never a dull moment.

There is nothing wrong with the story in Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. This isn't an intricate mystery novel, but there is a story and it is straightforward and excellent.

I don't think I need to say the visuals are incredible. Every single frame of this movie is a special effect, and that is not hyperbole. If you want to see a constant flow of things you've never seen before in extraordinary detail for 2 hours, go see Valerian.

I had no problem with any of the actors. I'm not expecting awards nominations or anything, but they did what they were supposed to do. Could I see the roles being played a little differently? Yes, but then we would be getting into the territory of being like other movies. I'd rather see these performances than a pair of Star Lord and Gamora clones. I expect their performances to grow on me with the numerous rewatches I definitely have planned.

There was simply too much to see to even begin to describe it all. It will require several viewings just to begin to absorb all that Luc Besson has put into this movie. There is easily an entire franchise worth of things going on in just this one movie.

People claim they're tired of all the formulaic reboots and sequels and they want something original and different. Well, here it is. Don't complain about Transformers 19 and skip this.