Review of Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) by Donelson — 25 Aug 2017

The secret to this movie is to see it twice, preferably with at least a week between viewings... On the first viewing, you are overwhelmed by the visuals, the creativity, and the confusing plot. You come out of the cinema saying "what was that?" and then over the next week or two, bits of the movie tease you into "maybe I should see that again", much like my first viewing of The Fifth Element so many years ago.

Then on the second viewing, the plot is "out of your way", and you can focus on how all the wonderful imagery, action and performances come together, especially that of Dane DeHaan as Valerian and Cara Delevingne as Laureline. They are quite charming, and the dialogue is witty without being self-concious.

After the second viewing, I went away feeling far more entertained and awed by the whole concoction, and even with the feeling....