I was pleasantly surprised when seeing Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets because it was an extremely enjoyable movie. I wasn't sure what to expect going into it because this type of sci-fi movie can be really good or go really, really badly. This one wasn't the best I have seen but had a plot that kept it going (thanks Valerian and Laureline comic books), although there were lots of strange things going on, it was beautiful to watch, and had a good production value but didn't feel like it was taking itself too seriously.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planet, follows Valerian, played by Dane DeHann, a Major in the United Human Federation who along with his partner Sargent Laureline, played by Cara Delevingne, who are a special service team, who get drawn into figure out what the unknown force that has taken over the center oft he space station Alpha (a.k.a. the city of a thousand planets) is and what is really going on with the people involved. While they are going about their duties they are trying to figure out what is really going on, who is the actual bad guy, and having banter about their potential future relationship. Also staring: Clive Owen as Commander Arun Filitt; Rhianna as Bubble; Sam Spruell as General Okto-Bar, Kris Wu as Sergeant Neza; and Herbert Hancock as Defense Minster.
As I said, I was pleasantly surprised by this movie and enjoyed the whole thing. The basic plot is very simplistic and their isn't much happening when you think of just the basic plot but there is a lot of side jaunts that Valerian and Laureline take to get there that are weird but make sense and are easy to follow. There is nothing really complex going on but it is an enjoyable ride and beautiful to look at. The cast is alright, there isn't phenomenal acting but it isn't over the top or that bad. There isn't much development in the characters but the whole movie takes place over the course of a single day so there isn't a lot of time for that to happen. The whole relationships thing between Valerian and Laureline is forced a bit but this is mainly because their are not great sparks that fly between the two. This is more due to Cara Delevingne's wooden performance and inability to really engage with the people around her (and even the cute little replicator thing). I just wanted her to show other emotions on her face and seem like she is connecting with the people around her but especially Valerian. Where you get little smirks and attempts at something from Dane DeHann, there isn't much being sent back at him for her to work with.
The whole movie is beautiful to watch and I really enjoy the backgrounds and environments. I saw the movie in 2D but am tempted to go back and see how everything looks in 3D. Usually when everything on the screen is CGI (characters and background), I think it all looks really bad and is distracting, but this production team obviously put the money to good use with making everything look really good, appealing, and cohesive. I liked the use of color and with the whole one thousand planets and species that exist in the world there is a lot of use of different colors and how different parts of Alpha look and are used. Although this is a sci-fi movie and set in space the focus is not on being or traveling through space, it is on the characters and their mission/ the intrigue that they have been drawn into.
I enjoyed how the movie used tone and although it is a family friendly movie (PG-13) it doesn't feel like it was dumbed down or wanted to be something that it wasn't. This movie very easily could have taken itself too seriously and tried too hard but I am glad that it didn't. Things fit together and you could see that during some of the times where a lot of ridiculous things were happening that the movie had that little sparkle that shows its not taking itself too seriously even thought it is committing to the weirdness.
Overall, I was impressed and enjoyed this movie and I am thinking that I want to go back and see it in 3D just to see how it is a different experience. This is definitely a movie that benefits from being seen on the big screen and was good.
My Rating: 2
My Enjoyment Rating: 3
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