Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Scott Hardie: “It ruled.”

There's so much wrong with this movie. The lead actors have zero romantic chemistry. Implausible events happen without cause. Character motivations shift on a whim. The women are demeaned. The green screen and CGI work is occasionally really phony-looking. The lead characters are irritating in their total disregard for anyone but themselves.

And yet, the movie is such a rich visual treasure that I really enjoyed it in spite of its many problems. It's the kind of movie where every scene is overflowing with enough ideas and enough details to spawn a half-dozen other smaller movies, and you want to step on screen and explore around every corner yourself because it feels like there could be a million wild possibilities. The trailer gives a pretty good sense of this, but the stuff it shows is only the tip of the iceberg. There are so many great ideas crammed into this movie, down to the throwaway details in the margins, that you can't help but be delighted. I wish the other elements were better and that the protagonists were more likeable, but the visuals alone are good enough to recommend this, provided that you don't go in expecting more.

− July 22, 2017 • more by Scott • log in or create an account to reply

Scott Hardie: And once again, the Netflix plot description is way off. There's no time-travel, and no one is trying to "undermine" the human race, whatever that means. But who cares? The plot in a movie like this is an insignificant pretense. − July 22, 2017 • more by Scott

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Evie Totty: “It sucked.”

From Scott's Review:

"There's so much wrong with this movie. The lead actors have zero romantic chemistry. Implausible events happen without cause. Character motivations shift on a whim. The women are demeaned. The green screen and CGI work is occasionally really phony-looking. The lead characters are irritating in their total disregard for anyone but themselves." Let's add - if the planet was destroyed... how did the MULE come to exist? (that's in his implausible maybe)

And unfortunately the visual feast didn't fix that for me. Full disclosure: I saw it the same day Chester Bennington of Linkin Park died and that has had a profound affect on me so it could skew it.

Perhaps if I watch it without the sound it would be better. The ideas - my god the ideas. Shopping on a planet in another dimension? LOVE IT

The opening sequence. So BEAUTIFUL.

How the city of a thousand planets came to be? SO COOL.

I just could NOT get past the TERRIBLE acting and ZERO chemistry. You know you have a problem when Rhianna steals the show. And it ended so fast! ARGH!

Trust me - I was so hyped for this movie because The Fifth Element is one of my favorite films and IT was created with Valerian in mind.

I don't know. Maybe after a second watch and a proper discussion with Scott I might upgrade it to 'Ok'...

− August 9, 2017 • more by Evie • log in or create an account to reply

Scott Hardie: I like the movie less now that I have some distance from it. Its problems are not minor.

The MULE plot hole (and other plot holes if I remember correctly) may have been due to cut material. This feels like the kind of movie where they trim the connective minor scenes like that from the final edit.

Yes, Rihanna and her character were both really good. I would have liked to have seen a lot more of her in the film. − August 17, 2017 • more by Scott

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