Review of Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) by Vds — 16 Nov 2017

Colourful sci-fi, such a refreshing change from that dull pompous Star Wars stuff, which seems to be flavour of the month at the moment with critics and audiences who believe the force actually exists.

If you liked The Fifth Element, you’ll get this movie. What’s being said here is that space is big, there’s lots of stuff in it, and that stuff’s a mish-mash of all our imaginations squashed together.

Ok, so some of what’s up on the screen here isn’t all that original, I’m looking at you endangered aliens, who are a cross between the blue monkeys of Avatar and the six-limbed what-nots from John Carter.

But there’s enough stuff that is the movie’s own creation to keep the visuals fresh and the action engaging. Having said that, Valerian’s accent (Keanu Reeves straight out of Bill & Ted) constantly distracted me, but not to the point that I couldn’t appreciate Cara Delevingne’s genuine star quality.

If you like your sci-fi on the imaginative side, and coloured with a pallet that’s more than 50 shades of grey, rent this film, today.