Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)

tmdb15214618 July 21, 2017

★ 7/10

A spectacular spectacle of a movie that faithfully adapts a French 1970s sci-fi comic book. If you think you might see it some day, you owe it to yourself to catch it in 3D on a big screen now. In a world of paint-by-numbers blockbusters, this is an invigorating slap to the eyeballs. The flick would benefit from more focus and deliberation; often, story beats are glancing blows instead of precision hits. The biggest flaws, however, are found in the dialogue, which is at best serviceable and at times painful, probably owing to its transition through times, languages, and mediums. Valerian isn't perfect, it's a bit clunky, but the sheer unusualness, whimsy, and wonder overpowers the movie's faults, making it well worth watching.

Movie Queen41 July 22, 2017

★ 6/10

It's a fun movie, but it's not what I would call a sci fi classic. It's all spectacle, with eye popping visuals. It creates some really interesting side characters and alien worlds. The drawback is the two leads. They seem rather bland and one dimensional. Their romantic bantering is quite boring. The supporting characters are more colorful and interesting. If you are a fan of Luc Besson's The Fifth Element, you will probably enjoy this. Just don't expect anything too deep from this movie.

Gimly November 28, 2017

★ 5/10

Well, the scenes start comin' and they don't stop comin'. Aaaand that's basically the whole movie. No, honestly by the end of it I was actually pretty on board. It took me a lot to get to that point though. The ham-fisted romance subplot they kept awkwardly grinding the movie to a standstill for was chief amongst the swill I felt I had to wade through to get to that point of enjoyment. The primary alien race being the most poorly animated was another. But somewhere between the Rhianna actually being bearable in this, and the Ethan Hawke character I want to see 500 more times, I did actually somewhat enjoy _Valerian_... Somewhat. _Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole._

Dark Jedi December 18, 2017

★ 10/10

I guess I am going to disagree both with the critics, wich of course is not at all unusual, as well as with a lot of the actual viewers of this movie by saying that I really liked this movie. I guess that I can to some extent understand that some viewers are disappointed. That would be the viewers that have read the comics that the movie is based on. Unfortunately someone in the production team decided to take bits and pieces from several comic books and mash them together as well as change some key elements. It is really annoying when that is done. It is usually an indication that somewhere some dumbass who did not understand, and certainly did not respect, the source material had way too much influence on the production. It is really a shame since the comic book from wich the core of the of the story seems to be taken is certainly more than good enough to stand on its own. Well lucki…

Judy December 25, 2017

★ 10/10

I like this Movie very much. It reminds a bit about Avatar & John Carter. I can not Understand why it did Not make it to the Australian Cinemas. For this type of High Budget it would be worth watching in 3D Cinemas. I gave it 10/10 **********

torysa November 24, 2018

★ 6/10

A disorrienting but somewhat delightful run through all manner of sci-fi imaginations. The acting was not good, and the storyline was sometimes incoherent, yet I have this strange urge to rewatch this thing. It's harmless, fascinating fun, in ways like the original starwars experience (though much more visually spectacular, and much less narratively coherent).

oznightshade June 15, 2024

★ 7/10

I'm conflicted by this film. The good is really great. I think the settings are some of the best in any sci-fi movie I've watched. Luc Besson's style shines through ala Fifth Element. The visual and special effects combine with the settings to make this just spectacular to watch. The plot and action provide solid support. But the bad is truly awful. The selection of Dane DeHaan in the lead is one of the worst casting mistakes I've come across. He is completely unbelievable in the role and nothing like the character in the source material. Cara Delevingne scrapes by but the two of them struggle to deliver their roles and have zero chemistry. Even Clive and Ethan aren't at their best, with Rihanna being one of the best performances. They aren't helped by some very poorly written dialog. With so many good actors and writers out there these two big mistakes should never have happened.…

vylmen December 22, 2024

★ 6/10

Great world, great action, great miscast Dane de Haan sounds like a teenager trying to sound like a grown-up ordering porn from the video store with dad's credit card. He's not the bratty guy that gets on Cara's nerves and into her heart. That would be Ryan Goslin, Chris Evans or Chris Pratt, but I reckon they had their schedules full. Since much of the movie depends on the banter between Cara and Dane, you can see Cara is trying and rescues a bunch of scenes, but it just doesn't work. It's a real shame. On top of that, he misses the hero charm and charisma that's needed to pull off a believable "invaluable resource". So enjoy the good parts (the word building, the action scenes and Rihanna's performance) and try to gloss over the bad.