Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
- Mar 19, 2018
- 3 min read
On the heels of two new additions to the Star Wars Universe and Guardians of the Galaxy I was ecstatic to see the trailers for Valerian. The director, Luc Besson, is best known for his work on the well received The Fifth Element. Besson is able to construct memorial visuals that bring science fiction worlds to life. Just watching the trailer shows many connections to the visuals of Star Wars and with that in mind, I was hopeful that the story of the movie would follow a similar thread. While Valerian succeeds with building a visually arresting world that stirs curiosity, it lacks the substance and depth of its peers.
One of the greatest tools of Science Fiction is its ability to help viewers see their own world through the eyes of fantasy. Science Fiction and Fantasy at their best can be a lense that allow a more nuanced look at culture, morals, and human interaction. Many of the best aspects of George Lucas, Christopher Nolan, and Steven Spielberg movie are their ability to do this very thing. In movies by those directors, the viewer is pulled into a new world that secretly has something special to say about the real world or characters who beg to be explored.
Few movies have created as deep and engaging of a universe as that of Star Wars. The visuals of the movie are consistent and create a world that makes sense. While fans of the films love to dream up new ships and creators for the universe even someone with little interest in the movies or its aliens can recognize Darth Vader and Yoda. In The Fifth Element, Besson proved that he has the ability to tap into that kind of creativity. The Fifth Element has no where near the same level of recognition as Star Wars, but it another example of a cohesive film universe. Each alien species and spaceship look like they belong. The same can not be said for Valerian. Characters and creatures in Valerian are intentionally varied and distinct. The story is set to take place in a universe where all civilizations have come to know each other and interact with each other. While other movies capture the experience of existing in a lived in universe, Valerian’s experience is that of a random and disjointed universe.
Memorable Science Fiction movies are often propelled by a desire to explain something with an element of fantasy. In Star Wars there is the force, in Interstellar there is love, and in Jurassic Park there is the pursuit of shaping life itself. These driving themes are are both interesting in the context of their respective movie and engaging as a concept themselves. In Valerian, a creature with the power to replicate any material it eats is central to the conflict. This creature could have been used to connect to nature, greed, or even just be cute enough to sell toys. In the end it is unable to accomplish any of those goals. Much like everything else in Valerian, the creature simply exists and disappoints.
Valerian sets its sights on greatness, but is lost in the special effects used to bring the universe to life. The main character who shares a name with the title of the movie is immediately introduced as needing to resolve a conflict within his identity. Valerian is shown to have been unable to sustain a relationship in the past which is causing his current relationship to fail. The woman who he has feelings for now recognizes his shortcomings and pushes him to just be better than what others have come to expect of him. This pressure falls flat. As the story advances, this conflict is mentioned on occasion, but Valerian himself is indifferent about this change in his life. His growth does not feel natural or necessary and the resolutions at the end of the film would have happened whether or not he had grown at all. The future of the universe ultimately does not care if Valerian has learned to love.
The City of a Thousand Planets claims to offer so much but fails to hold much substance. While it is able to hold up as a flashy Sci-Fi action movie, it is a shame that Valerian feels like just another CGI extravaganza among thousands of others others like it. The comic book material clearly inspired great pieces of film from other directors and is worth a watch for those who enjoy Sci-Fi action at a basic level. However, for those not as interested in bright space fights this is an easy skip.
6/10
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