Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets Review. Share. That's the simplest synopsis for this unwieldy story, penned by Besson, that is often an incoherent mess populated with underserved characters.

Paced like an old serial, some . The story's biggest, most jarring detour - - when Valerian sets out to rescue a captured Laureline - - essentially stops the narrative momentum flat in a sequence that offers a lot of zany, kid- friendly humor which actress Cara Delevingne, unfortunately, can't quite sell. Speaking of Cara .. Valerian's biggest problem, the hollow center of the film, is its two main characters, Valerian and Laureline. Their relationship is contrived and lacks dimension, and Dane De. Haan and Cara Delevingne simply don't have much chemistry.

Valerian: Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are special operatives for the government of the human territories charged with. 2017 3D Movie Schedule: The Full List Of Titles And Release Dates. Every summer movie season needs at least one out-of-left-field entry that is so cheerfully bonkers it stands as a living rebuke to an industry that churns out noisy. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) on IMDb: Movies, TV, Celebs, and more.

They're the two characters with the lowest stakes in this story and are the least interesting ones to spend time with, which is obviously a huge detriment when they are the leads. It's also tough to buy two such small, wispy actors as best of the best space cops Valerian and Laureline (the stars bear scant resemblance to their comic book counterparts).

While both actors see plenty of action, even in mech suits that enhance their characters’ speed and strength, De. Haan and Delevingne hardly make for imposing combatants. Hd Video Download Stefan Zweig (2017). Valerian's romantic pursuit of Laureline plays out like a live- action version of a Pepe Le. Pew cartoon, but it would require a more roguishly charming lead than De.

Haan to pull off such an antiquated approach. All of which is to say that Valerian himself is often the weakest thing about Valerian the movie. Faring much better is singer- actress Rihanna.

Initially, her appearance feels like a wasted supporting role in a needless burlesque diversion, but then her character is revealed to be far more dimensional and moving than expected. Rihanna ends up being one of Valerian's most pleasant surprises, even if ultimately the subplot she's integral to only serves to kill the momentum of the primary storyline. Nevertheless, I felt more for her character than I ever did either of the two leads. Clive Owen has a small but key role as the military commander Valerian and Laureline are charged with protecting (and who dresses like a cross between M. Bison and an Aer Lingus pilot), while Ethan Hawke has a brief turn as a sort of space pimp meets Kid Rock. Music legend Herbie Hancock also cameos as Valerian and Laureline’s chief commanding officer.

Outside of Rihanna, though, none of these supporting performers ultimately register all that much. Besson is known as an action auteur and Valerian features one particularly clever, inter- dimensional chase scene that evokes both virtual reality and open world games. It's set on a barren tourist trap of a planet on one side of reality and then a boisterous, marketplace planet on the other. Valerian never quite recaptures the inventiveness of this early action sequence. Where Valerian pops most is in its visuals, creature designs, and world- building. This movie is chock full of visual details to behold in nearly every shot, whether it's showcasing a diverse array of alien species or immersing you in its vividly realized settings.

While the film's wall- to- wall green screen effects can become exhausting, Valerian nevertheless takes the viewer on a wondrous journey to other realms. Valerian's sheer variety of aliens - - underwater creatures, giant robots, shape- shifting blobs, kid- friendly critters - - is truly impressive, although some are certainly stronger designs than others. This diversity of aliens speaks to the film's Star Trek- like, hopeful vision of the future where relatively peaceful coexistence is possible. There's an optimism and idealism at the core of Valerian that's commendable and a welcome relief from what seems like an endless glut of dystopian visions of the future. However, this movie also shows the cost of one civilization's aggressive expansion and the ghosts created by such violence. Valerian is like a sampler appetizer of different flavors of sci- fi, from pulpy serials (Flash Gordon) to the socially conscious (Trek and Avatar) to modern space operas (Star Wars and Guardians). But Jupiter Ascending was also like that and it proved a giant commercial flop.

Valerian also faces the same challenge John Carter had, where it may seem derivative of the very films, like Star Wars, that its older source material may have helped inspire. Valerian is certainly a hugely expensive gamble, the rare big genre movie that isn't pre- sold IP. I wish I could be a bigger champion of it then but Luc Besson conjured more compelling visuals and set- pieces than he did characters and a story. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. Rooted in the classic Valerian and Laureline graphic novel series, visionary writer/director Luc Besson advances iconic source material into a contemporary, unique and epic science fiction saga with Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. Hearing Is Believing (2017) Video Download here.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2. Trailers and Videos.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets' Final Trailer (2. In the 2. 8th century, Valerian (Dane De. Haan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are a team of special operatives charged with maintaining order throughout the human territories. Under assignment from the Minister of Defense, the two embark on a mission to the astonishing city of Alpha—an ever- expanding metropolis where species from all over the universe have converged over centuries to share knowledge, intelligence and cultures with each other. There is a mystery at the center of Alpha, a dark force which threatens the peaceful existence of the City of a Thousand Planets, and Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.