Movie Review - Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (PG-13) **** for 3-D special effects; ** for cast and script (out of 5). If you can’t tell by the title, this one’s a sci-fi adventure, heavy on computer graphics. It’s based on a series of French comics, and directed by action maven Luc Besson, whose credentials as a writer and director of high-octane and/or artistic action (from La Femme Nikita and The Fifth Element to the Transporter series to the underappreciated Angel-A). This one looks great, but is less filling than his norm.

After feeling disappointed by many recent 3-D offerings, at least Besson made the most of the medium, with dazzling visuals and full-blown depth depiction throughout the film, both in space and assorted interiors. For all the times I’ve advised readers to save the extra cost of a 3-D ticket, this time I heartily endorse it, so long as the rest of this review doesn’t cause you to forget the whole thing.

Relatively obscure Dane DeHaan is about 30, but looks like a teenager, making him appear unfit for the role of Major Valerian, the go-to super-agent (and major stud) for the Good Guys in this futuristic universe. He appeared to be a Frankie Muniz, on his way to doing another Spy Kids flick, who wandered onto the wrong set, and ended up miscast as a barely pubescent James Bond wannabe. His partner and sought-after paramour (Cara Delevigne) seems more suitable, but only because less is expected of her Robin to his Batman.

The eponymous city is a massive cluster of ships and structures that started in Earth’s orbit before being set adrift to gather residents of hundreds of planets and species over the next 400 years, all living, working and sharing their tech and cultures in harmony; or so it seems. Somebody did something bad, which we see in the opening sequence, that comes back to make more trouble for our heroic duo than they were led to expect on this mission.

The film runs over two hours, which might have been fine with more credible protagonists. But DeHaan looked too much like a casting choice imposed on the production for reasons other than the gravitas his character required. This one could rack up quite a few tech nominations in awards season, but don’t expect any for acting or the adapted screenplay. (7/21/17)