THE FIFTH ELEMENT
A film review by Lewis Butler
Copyright 1997 Lewis Butler
In short: A slamming action picture that owes a lot to
BLADERUNNER, HEAVY METAL, STAR WARS and the
computer game HELL CAB, to name a few. Bruce Willis
puts in a steady performance as sort of John McClain of the
23rd century. The visual impact of the film is an important
part of the film, and there are tons fo details to keep your
attention. The film is basically pulp, but well executed and
always fun. A steady +2 (-4 to +4, 0 is average).
What can you say about a movie that shows a ring of red traffic lights hovering in space? THE FIFTH ELEMENT has the feeling of a comic book come to life, and I mean that as a compliment. There is a lot here that has been done before, but never this well. The film spends a lot of time getting the little things right and assumes you'll go along with the overall silliness of the main plot. And you do. The whole thing works somehow.
There are references throughout the film to other movies, and there is a whole 1930's Buck Rogers/Flash Gordon feeling to the whole epic. The main plot line is trivial and not worth going into here, what works best is the overall presense of the film. I was reminded of Steve Rude's artwork for many of the scenes, and the entire sequence on the cruise ship could have been stright out of the comic book NEXUS.
Gary Oldman turns in a wonderful performance as a psychotic power hungry servant of evil (Mr. Shadow). And everyone else in the movie does what needs to be done. There is a particular performance that deserves recognition, the role of the outlandish Dennis Rodman-styled DJ is outstanding. I don't know who the actor is, but he turns in a wonderfully comic performance.
The special effects, of course, deserve their praise. Some people might dislike the comic-book look to some of the mattes and some of the city scenes, but I found the whole thing quite appropriate.
-- Signatures follow:
Distribution of this message by Microsoft, its subsidiaries, or its software shall constitute a violation of my copyrights. Microsoft may license copyrights to my messages, for distribution only, for the sum of $1,000 US per week. -- | kreme@cerebus.kreme.com 1015 South Gaylord, Denver, CO 80209 #100 | | WWW URL \ <http://www.nyx.net/~kreme> | | [303/722-2009] Vox \ Sometimes, after a lighting storm, I can see in | | [303/777-2911] Data \ five dimensions. -- Cornfed Pigg |
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