Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)

IMDb plot summary: A dark force threatens Alpha, a vast metropolis and home to species from a thousand planets. Special operatives Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.

Directed by Luc Besson. Starring Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne, and Clive Owen.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is a sci-fi story set centuries in the future when interstellar travel is common. We follow law enforcement officer Valerian and his partner as they try to track down a smuggled artifact that may belong to a mysterious world Valerian's been dreaming about with no official record. Watching this made me want to go back and give The Fifth Element another shot, because this is what I wanted Fifth Element to be -- big and silly and a world that feels so chock full of characters and worlds that I'll never possibly get a chance to see all of them in this film. Its sense of humor every so often gets perhaps a bit *too* silly, but it doesn't feel too disparate against these bright, fun visuals. I would happily watch an entire series set in this world. Sci-fi and fantasy too often portray the same kinds of alien creatures over and over again, and I loved how fresh and creative a lot of these characters felt, especially in combination with each other. A big bold fun attempt even when its big risks don't quite land.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets > The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets < Key Largo

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets > Nobody’s Fool

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets < Waking Ned Devine

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets > A Tale of Two Sisters

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets > Nine to Five

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets < What’s Eating Gilbert Grape

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets > The Polka King

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets > Death By Hanging

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets > The French Dispatch

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets < The Shoes of the Fisherman

Final spot: #1234 out of 3840, or 68%.