Fifth Element, The (1997)

reviewed by
Michael J. Legeros

                                  THE FIFTH ELEMENT
                       A film review by Michael John Legeros
                        Copyright 1997 Michael John Legeros

(Columbia)
Directed by     Luc Besson
Written by      Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen      
Cast            Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm,
                Chris Tucker, Luke Perry
MPAA Rating     "PG-13"
Running Time    127 minutes
Reviewed at     General Cinemas at Pleasant Valley, Raleigh, NC 
                (02MAY97)

==

Here's a topic that will be debated on the newsgroups for the rest of the summer: is Luc Besson's spectacular sci-fi action/comedy/ love story the most visually arresting film of the decade? Could be. Think BLADE RUNNER meets BRAZIL in this magnificently multi-colored, multi- cultural vision of the 23rd century. Every image is an eye-popper and not just the flying taxies or futuristic cityscapes. Costumes, make-up, even the smallest set decorations are stunning. And yet, the special effects-- the most seamless blend of mattes, models, and computer animation that I can recall-- never once threaten to overpower the narrative.

Yeah, there's a plot. Former fighter pilot-turned-New York cabbie Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) saves the life of an orange-haired beauty (actress/model/recording artist Milla Jovovich), who is actually an alien super-weapon, once stored on Earth, then removed from Earth, then *returned* to Earth, to save the Earth from an approaching, planet- sized, super-duper-evil-and-with-a-cherry-on-top menace. So far? Now, to be activated, she (it?) requires the presence of four sacred stones, which she doesn't have, and which a villainous industrialist (Gary Oldman, bucktoothed and brandishing an outlandish Southern accent) is also trying to get. Got it?

Based on a story that Besson started when he was sixteen, THE FIFTH ELEMENT is likely to be the most cryptic of the summer blockbuster wannabes. (Actually, it's a French film that's been several years in the making. Does that qualify as standard summer fare?) Only the slightest explanation is offered for the movie's major events, though, admittedly, anyone with even a *modest* sense of sci-fi can extrapolate what's what and which end is up. The smaller story details, however, are another matter. Besson and Robert Mark Kamen's screenplay relies heavily upon coincidence and that's all fine and dandy until you try to think about it. (I tried to make detailed sense of the plot and track who was where and how they got there and almost had a brain hemorrhage in the process.)

Okay, so you may not understand even *half* of the story. That's fine. THE FIFTH ELEMENT entertains in so many, many other ways. Nearly every character, for example, gets their turn at playing comic relief. (So much comic relief that some scenes border on slapstick.) Ian Holm, the ass-biter from BIG NIGHT, is very funny as a high priest who's also the alien's contact person on Earth. Later scenes with Gary Oldman are often a howl, while latecomer Chris Tucker is a hyperactive scene- stealer as the flamboyant radio personality Ruby Rhod. (Imagine, if you can, a cross between Dennis Rodman and the Artist Formerly Known as Prince. And then try not to scream.)

At the end, Besson attempts to get serious with statements about war and violence and man's bottom-line need for love. The resulting shift in tone, however, is too abrupt and turns the finale into a fizzle. (The sequence also feels rushed and the accompanying special effects are hardly special. This is a movie that needs a *big* finish, which we don't get, and which may be on purpose.) I suspect that Besson intended to end on a different note. Maybe something more sentimental than visceral. Maybe a tug at the heart instead of a kick in the 'nads. Had he paid more attention to plot comprehensibility, and not required the viewer to work *quite* so hard to play along, we might've even felt it.

     Grade: B+

--

Mike Legeros - Movie Hell
http://www.nonvirtual.com/hell/

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