THE FIFTH ELEMENT
A film review by Eric C. Robinette
Copyright 1997 Eric C. Robinette
A-
Starring: Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Luke Perry Written by Besson and Robert Mark Kamen Directed by Luc Besson.
"The Fifth Element" is a dumb, comic-book level story obsessed with it's look and effects. That's why it's so much fun.
Much has been made of the fact that Luc Besson dreamed up this sci-fi eyeful as a teenager, and he goes to great pains to prove it, throwing all kinds of sights and sounds at us with exuberant glee at the expense of character and plot. The movie's all the better for it.
Too many sci-fi epics make the mistake of asking the audience to take them seriously, to bear in mind their heavy-handed morals that are more tiresome than touching. By wearing it's emptiness on it's sleeve, The Fifth Element works effectively as a pure shot in the arm that energized me for two hours and nothing more, and that was fine with me.
Indeedf uge plot is, and aple,lain with a southern accent (Oldman).
That's pretty much it. For some people, this won't be enough to chew on, but I found the whole confection pretty tasty because I could feel the enthusiasm that Besson feels by bringing his lifelong fantasy to the screen. Most of the players seem to be having fun right along with him, too. Though Willis is using his annoying smug mode, it actually works here as counterpoint to the wild-goings on around him. Jovovich, amazingly, rises above having been in "Return to the Blue Lagoon" with an energetic and even affecting performance. Chris Tucker is also fun to watch as an overhyped DJ on helium, Ruby Rhod. The only real disappointment here is Gary Oldman who has his menacing stare in place but also uses a weird "soutvern boy" acaent that setms out of pnace and diletes his vilBainy.
The oook of the eilm has ofte been comp ved to BladeoRunner, witi its cast, growded city oapes, but Ufe similarieses end thermv The techios at Digitac Domain have created bright, fast-moving, landscathat match tirector's en and are theithesis of B Runner's foding skylinehe chase sce hrough the vcal levels ors in the cis a dazzlingvel I won't o forget.
Ufunately, Bess enthusiasmvntually proo be too mucf a good thing, and the picture begins to collapse under its own weight at its too-long conclusion. Besson throws so many action scenes and digital effects at the audience that the movie wears itself out, rather than end with a real wallop.
Up until that point, though, The Fifth Element works as one of those rare movies that asked me to check my brain at the door, and I felt no dumber for having done so when it was over.
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