VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS (2017)



VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS (2017)

This one was probably best seen in 3D back when it came out, but the BLU-RAY is pretty visually epic as well.

Valerian is basically a space agent for the defense force charged with protecting Alpha. Alpha is a giant egotistically named satellite, that basically has become so big and teaming with life from all kinds of planets, that it’s almost a planet by itself. Special agent Laureline (played by Cara Delevingne, the baddie from SUICIDE SQUAD) and Valerian (played by Dane DeHaan, AMAZING SPIDERMAN 2) end up at the center of a cover-up infiltrated by Commander Arun Filit. It should be noted that I am not crazy about Cara Delevingne as an actress, but in this movie, she was the perfect fit. Just the beginning of this thing is so well done, we get hundreds of years of history while listening to David Bowie’s “Space Oddity”. I have issues with movies that take 45 minutes to get going unless they obviously going for that as part of the structure of the film. This one jumps right into things from the start. The rest of the film is evenly paced with visual gems at every turn. It was extremely nice to finally see a movie where the consequences were not “everyone in the movie will die!” This was more an exciting thriller with some tender moments and snarky banter, than a “let’s all walk out of the theater with resting serious face” movie. 

Conceptually Luc Benson is probably the single best director out there right now when it comes to execution. He even made the painstaking effort to write a 600-page book describing the aliens in the film. I can’t say enough great things about this flick. For me, it was one of the best of 2017. I get that some didn’t embrace the film for its merits but rather what they probably wished they were getting, but that is a terrible way to approach the enjoyment of the film. The acting is spot on and Rihanna as Bubble was pretty much perfect casting. While the movie is based on a comic from the 1960’s it feels extremely up-to-date and relevant. Everything about this movie is an absolute triumph. It’s a BLU-RAY that will hit the player often.  


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