Directed by: Luc Besson
Starring: Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Ian Holm, Gary Oldman
The Fifth Element is one of those movies I have caught bits and pieces of over the years. Given its two hour and some change runtime, I never caught more than half of it when being aired on broadcast television. I just recently sat down and had a chance to view it all in one setting. Now it makes a whole lot more sense, and was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
The plot is a bit convoluted, but easier to follow if you are actually watching the film. A "great evil" appears every 5,000 years to wipe out life on earth. The key to stopping the evil is passed down by priests from generation to generation. Also needed are the five "elements": earth, fire, water, wind, and a fifth; which can be described as "love" or "heart".
Capitan Planet does not have a cameo
An acient race of beings, who are also tasked with stopping the great evil, are halted by mercenaries hired by hired by the corporatist Zorg (Oldman). Enough DNA is recovered from their wrecked ship to recreate one of the beings. The recreation, Leeloo (Jovovich), is a genetically perfect being, also serving as the fifth element. She soon escapes, running into a ex-special forces taxi cab driver, Dallas (Willis). The two team up with the priests (Ian Holm and Charlie Creed-Miles) that have the necessary knowledge to stop the great evil, while fighting Zorg and his goons along the way. It sounds confusing written down, but is not too hard to follow while actually watching.
The main appeal of this film is its sheer visual brilliance. The future New York City has an amazing, if not over the top, look to it. It almost is more of a bright fantasy look, rather than the cold steel vision of the future that is so popular. This look alone was almost enough to hold my attention throughout the entirety of the film, there is never a dull looking image on screen. The effects are top notch, and hold themselves even 14 years later. There is a perfect blend of CGI and practical effects, both being done extremely well.
All of the characters are just as colorful, in costume design and personality. (Fun fact: over 900 different costumes were designed for use in the film) The Fifth Element is filled out by an excellent cast. Oldman steals the show as the evil corporatist Zorg. He blends into his role so well, I was shocked to find out it was him in the credits. Willis plays the typical Willis character: The wise cracking badass who smokes too much, all the while tongue firmly planted in cheek. It isn't anything new for him, but he does it well. Jovovich plays the naive acting Leeloo. She is a source of a few of the film's best laughs, and is plenty easy on the eyes. Ian Holm and Charlie Creed-Miles are a delight as the two sometimes bumbling priests. And finally, where the characters get too colorful, is Chris Tucker as the eccentric Rhuby Rhod. The film looses points for this character, who serves no real role and is utterly obnoxious for every scene he is in. I would call him the "Jar Jar Binks" of this movie, until I remembered The Fifth Element was around two years before the Phantom Menace. That makes Jar Jar the Rhuby Rhod of Star Wars.
Screenwriter: How can we take Chris Tucker, and make him even more annoying? .....Bingo.
Bottom line: 8/10: The Fifth element is wildly entertaining, well worth a watch. Its held back in only a couple places, such as a complicated plot and Chris Tucker. However, the other characters, and the brilliant design of the future world, make this a good one for any fan of the sci-fi genre.
I still wonder why Chris Tucker's part was in this movie, between the outlandish dresses, the strange hair cut, and screaming like a woman, if he had any more parts in it he might have flat out ruined the movie, well maybe not, but I didn't like his character, and every time I watch the movie I say the same thing. The movie was put together very well, it was one of the first movies I saw that had two different scenes with dialogue going along with each other at the same time, when both were going to same point. There are a lot of little things that make the movie great, sometime too many to think of except right when you are watching it. The obsession with orange shows very well though. Working at DISH Network, I had just gotten set up with my Blockbuster movie Pass, and I figured what would be the best movie to rent first, and of course The Fifth Element won hands down, I spent a couple days streaming some of the 3000 movies to my television and 2 days later, I got to enjoy a classic all over again.
ReplyDelete