The Fifth Element

This 1997 film, based on a story Luc Besson developed when he was a kid, ranks among our most-requested reviews. With the “Ultimate Edition” DVD about to be released, we’re fulfilling that request.

Cast, Crew, and Other Info:

Director: Luc Besson
Writers: Luc Besson., Robert Mark Kamen.

Features:

Bruce Willis…Korben Dallas
Gary Oldman…Zorg
Ian Holm…Vito Cornelius

Milla Jovovich…Leeloo
Gary Oldman…Zorg
Chris Tucker…Ruby Rhod

Available at Amazon.com (Ultimate Edition Preorder) and Amazon.ca (Regular Version)

Premise:

An alien race who function very like Babylon Five’s Vorlon (if the Vorlon looked like ducks in deep-sea-diving gear) have created a weapon that will protect from a recurrent evil force, and appointed an order of Terran priests to guard the secret. Bruce Willis plays a former soldier turned cabbie in a retro-futuristic, Gernsbackian NYC. He finds himself in the midst of plot convolutions when the evil force makes its return engagement, a sinister human hires mercenary shape-shifting dog people to assist the evil force, and one part of the alien weapon finds its way into our hero’s cab. This particular part takes the form of a genetically enhanced redhead with significant language issues and minimal nudity taboo.

In case you haven’t guessed, Fifth Element shouldn’t be approached as serious SF. It’s a comic-book movie (though not, in fact, based on a comic), with the emphasis on action and humour.

High Point:

1.I found it difficult to identify a single “high point.” The sense of fun that pervades this movie sells it. Of the goofier scenes, the clean-up in Zorg’s office amused me the most.

2.The film’s world may be silly, but it’s internally consistent.

Low Point:

1. The apparent death-by-freezing of several annoying, but morally upright characters as a cheap joke. Yeah, they turn up alive awhile later, but I still found the end to that fairly slapstick scene out of character for this film, with its particular message.

2. The reconstruction of Leeloo with the use of comic-book science. Even for this movie, the results are scientifically ridiculous, and the effects, the weakest in the film.

The Scores:

Originality: 4/6

Effects: 5/6. Hats off to Mark Stetson and the others who created the film’s effects.

Story: 3/6: The story is a fairly silly, good-vs-evil deal, with a few interesting twists. It switches location a lot (again, much like many comics), introducing settings and characters that will never really be developed.

Acting: 4/6: Willis works as our cartoony hero, and Gary Oldman does well as a campy villain. No one is called to rise above that level, and the parodic performances grow wearisome at times.

Production: 6/6 Besson waited until he’d produced some hits, so that he could have the time and budget to make the film exactly as he wanted it. This is a Star Wars(original trilogy)-level spectacle.

Emotional Response: 4/6

Overall: 5/6. This film works, if you view it as the filmmakers obviously intended. Try not to groan when the story reveals the truth about the “fifth element”– assuming you don’t see that particular plot development coming a light-year off.

In total, The Fifth Element receives 31/42.

12 replies on “The Fifth Element”

  1. Stunning visual imagery
    This is one of those few movies that requires an additional category, for stunning visual imagery. It’s easy to overlook in this movie since so much of it is (intentionally) cartoonish, but the set designers have gone far beyond what you see in the average movie. Look at the sets, the costumes, the matte fillers.

    (Other good examples? Brainstorm (esp. in the theater, where they used different processes so the wired scenes were brighter and covered a bit more of the screen than the reality scenes), Strange Days (the first movie where I really felt it was 2000, not some hackeyed set), Point Blank.)

    • Re: Stunning visual imagery

      This is one of those few movies that requires an additional category, for stunning visual imagery. It’s easy to overlook in this movie since so much of it is (intentionally) cartoonish, but the set designers have gone far beyond what you see in the average movie. Look at the sets, the costumes, the matte fillers.

      (Other good examples? Strange Days (the first movie where I really felt it was 2000, not some hackeyed set), .)

      I was kinda surprised that JP Gaultier did not get an oscar for costume design. Yeah, everything was whacky, but still visually stunning.

      I still maintain to this day that Strange Days was a sequel to Brainstorm

  2. Comic book movie
    The best way I can describe what this movie is like to people who haven’t seen it before is to tell a story of what happened the first time I showed one of my friends. We were sitting there for about 10 minutes and all of a sudden she says, “Oh, I thought this was a *real* movie.” Can’t really sum it up much better than that.

    –Hob

  3. The High Point is absolutely …
    … the Opera scene. It has amazing music matched perfectly with action …

    and did I mention the MUSIC is AMAZING?

  4. two things
    first, have you nothing to say about Ruby Rod ? I mean
    green green green Green man! He was totally comic, but
    far and away the most memorable character.

    second, the Heavy Metal controversy. This entire film
    heavily resembles a segment of the Heavy Metal animated
    movie. It isn’t a total match, but the settings and
    characters can be seen in both places. Besson could
    easily be said to have done a live action version.

    Still and all, one of my favorite movies of all time. I
    have to agree with another commenter. When I first saw
    it, I was totally lost, until if finally hit me, “its a
    comedy!”. One office mate of mine didn’t get that until
    after it was over!

    • Re: two things

      I mean
      green green green Green man!

      This is possibly my most favorite Sci-Fi movie. Not only is it a Sci-Fi movie, it’s got a love story, it’s got action, and it’s got comedy. I think that may be why it didn’t do too well… people don’t expect Genre-bending movies. (see: Hudson Hawk, also starring Bruce Willis)

      The visuals, the story, the imagery, the fight-scene-to-music, even “John Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg”. How green? To quote the movie: “Supergreen. Really really green. Green as in grass. Green whatever color you like”.

    • Re: two things

      first, have you nothing to say about Ruby Rod

      Funny, but I thought he grew tiresome after awhile.

      second, the Heavy Metal controversy. This entire film

      Personally, I see it more as two movies milking/referencing the same pop/pulp SF material, but yeah, they’re similar. Personally, I think Besson did it better.

      I like to think of this movie as the kind of imaginary space adventure a little kid would play at, fully realized. It’s “Spaceman Spiff” with a huge budget, and a lot of fun to watch.

      • Re: two things

        Also, though Besson clearly owes a debt to certain SF conventions and, in particular, artists (see below), he has always insisted he developed the plot in the early 70s, when he was in his early teens.

    • Re: two things

      second, the Heavy Metal controversy. This entire film
      heavily resembles a segment of the Heavy Metal animated
      movie. It isn’t a total match, but the settings and
      characters can be seen in both places. Besson could
      easily be said to have done a live action version.

      Controversy???

      I guess the name Moebius means nothing to you then (aside from the geometry aspect, of course)?

      I hereby request a review of “Time Masters“. Which Timeshredder should do, because, well, you know…

      • Re: two things

        second, the Heavy Metal controversy. This entire film
        heavily resembles a segment of the Heavy Metal animated
        movie. It isn’t a total match, but the settings and
        characters can be seen in both places. Besson could
        easily be said to have done a live action version.

        Controversy???


        I guess the name Moebius means nothing to you then
        (aside from the geometry aspect, of course)?

        I knew about Moebius. When I say “resemble”, I don’t mean
        visual presentation and art direction, I mean
        plagiarism story-wise. Ancient artifact,
        archeological dig, pretty girl on the run, taxi driver
        hero, evil rich guy, end of the world, etc.

        The fact that he picked up Moebius to do some of the work
        just means Besson is a thorough, if uncreative, theif.

        • Re: two things

          I knew about Moebius. When I say “resemble”, I don’t mean
          visual presentation and art direction, I mean
          plagiarism story-wise. Ancient artifact,
          archeological dig, pretty girl on the run, taxi driver
          hero, evil rich guy, end of the world, etc.

          The fact that he picked up Moebius to do some of the work
          just means Besson is a thorough, if uncreative, theif.

          I tend to think that it isn’t theft if they both worked on it : )

          I don’t really remember anything from Heavy Metal except the giant glowing happy face spaceship, but from your list, the only thing I would consider suspiscious is the taxi driver, because ancient artefacts and evil rich guys go together like peanut butter toast and a glass of milk, and are about as common (in sci-fi).

          Maybe I should check out that flick again…

  5. Favorite Quotes…
    “I am a meat popsical.”

    As Korben and co see Zorg’s ship while escaping the cruise ship, “This will do.”

    “Anyone else want to negotiate?”

    “I wonder where he learned to negotiate like that…” (ships ensign voice captured by Rubey Rod’s microphone) “So do I.” (preident, directed at the general who sent Korben)

    “Real Killers would have immediately asked about the red button.” Zorg after distributing the multi-projectile guns to the dog people. Just before the entire room blows up.

    Any reason ‘Gary Oldman…Zorg’ appears twice under ‘Features:’? Don’t get me wrong, great actor and all…

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