THE FIFTH ELEMENT
A film review by Elizabeth Reid
Copyright 1997 Elizabeth Reid
This movie brilliantly showcases the talents of Eric Serra, who wrote the music. Unfortunately the same can't be said for Luc Besson (director), Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich (stars).
Willis and Jovovich show only two emotions each throughout the movie -- Willis is either enraged or confused, while Jovovich is either feral or ditzy. Besson seems to have abandoned coherence in favor of gaudiness. The plot is sketchy at best. Plot elements are introduced with impressive special effects but little explanation -- what exactly is a meteorite made from "pure evil", and what is the "Supreme Being/Fifth Element" supposed to do in the universe (apart from karate and the deflection of the evil meteorite)? There is no sense of mystery, let alone suspense. The frequent countdowns toward bomb detonations or meteorite collisions pass zero without measurably quickening the audience's pulse-rate.
The entire film is a sequence of petty larcenies from other movies. The opening sequence is from _Stargate_, the many spaceship shots are from _Star Wars_, the cityscapes are from _Blade Runner_ (and Jovovich's hair and acrobatics are cloned from Pris), the war montage is from _The Abyss_, DJ Ruby Rhod has just escaped (or possibly been ejected) from _Priscilla, Queen of the Desert_, Jean-Paul Gaultier's costumes are straight out of _Barbarella_ etc etc. Tributes and references are one thing; a constant lack of originality is quite another.
That said, the movie is fairly amusing. So long as you can stomach or ignore the metaphysical pretensions you can well enjoy the gaudy visuals, campy acting and slick action sequences. But frankly I think you'd do better to buy the soundtrack rather than a movie ticket.
Elizabeth.
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