Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

pixelburp

An adaptation of a long-running French comicbook "Valérian and Laureline" (which if I'm honest I hadn't heard of & I imagine a lot of people wouldn't have), from the mind of Luc Besson, his first splashy space opera since The 5th Element. Hmm, that reminds me, must go re-watch The 5th Element

Looks colourful, could have potential to be lots of fun, and hopefully a bit more coherent and enjoyable than last years blatant blockbuster Space Opera, Jupiter Rising.

Edit: looks like it won't be released 'til July 2016, so a bit to wait yet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqtH4-ehgE0

titan18

Cara Delevingne and Rihanna as two of the main cast? I'm skeptical this will be anything other than pure sh1te.

Mr E

It looks.... busy.

I'll either enjoy it or have a massive headache by the end of it.

nix

Cara is such a horrible "actress", im stumpified as to how she is as successful as she is in the film industry. She looks like a boy with girly hair and can't act and they keep throwing big roles at her.. what the **** am i missing?

pixelburp

Yeah, Delevingne is a total non-actor & her presence isn't a positive IMO, but at the same time this doesn't strike me as the kind of film where acting prowess is a prerequisite.

Bacchus

nix wrote: »

Cara is such a horrible "actress", im stumpified as to how she is as successful as she is in the film industry.

Is she a success in Hollywood? I had to Google her filmography, and aside from playing a bland villain with few lines in Suicide Squad she's played some riveting roles such as "Naughty Barmaid", "Mermaid" and "Herself". There's a few indie looking movies in the mix there too. It looks like this movie might be her first big score, a leading role in a Luc Besson sci-fi opera.

ambro25

I grew up with these comics (in French) and, all notions of acting pedigree and prowess put aside, both actors appear to be quite good lookalike matches, so that's a plus.

The look and feel from this trailer also takes me back to the comics, so I'm quite looking forward to the end result, at least as a curio.

If anyone is interested in the source material, may be run a search of europeanclassiccomic.blogspot.co.uk in October 2015 for english language versions, see what I mean for yourselves.

mikhail

It's opening opposite Dunkirk, Nolan's latest, which you'd expect to be still competition.

nix

Bacchus wrote: »

It looks like this movie might be her first big score, a leading role in a Luc Besson sci-fi opera.

Yeah but my point being "Why?" I'm sure this role could have just as easily went to someone with actual talent. Betcha she drags the movie down. Just like she did in suicide squad, though the movie was already dragged down by alot other things, i think her lack of talent was overlooked......again

Please don't be another John Carter. Please don't be another John Carter.

Bacchus

nix wrote: »

Yeah but my point being "Why?" I'm sure this role could have just as easily went to someone with actual talent. Betcha she drags the movie down. Just like she did in suicide squad, though the movie was already dragged down by alot other things, i think her lack of talent was overlooked......again

Busson hoping to strike it lucky like he did in 5th Element maybe? He's all about the visuals and this looks to be treading similar ground (style-wise) as 5th Element.

nix

Bacchus wrote: »

Busson hoping to strike it lucky like he did in 5th Element maybe? He's all about the visuals and this looks to be treading similar ground (style-wise) as 5th Element.

Well that worked well as Milla Jovovich didnt speak much at all really in that movie :pac:

conorhal

Deleted User wrote: »

Please don't be another John Carter. Please don't be another John Carter.

You should be so lucky, there's a whiff of Jupiter Ascending about that trailer....

FunLover18

This looks like a lot of fun. I'm getting vibes similar to that of Lockout which was average at best but throughly enjoyable popcorn fodder.

RDM_83 again

Bacchus wrote: »

Busson hoping to strike it lucky like he did in 5th Element maybe? He's all about the visuals and this looks to be treading similar ground (style-wise) as 5th Element.

Really liked the 5th Element but it had the whole madcap hectic camp thing going on, all the Jean Paul Gautier outfits in space etc.

Gary Oldman being amazing as usual

and random Chris Tucker interludes while Bruce Willis runs around in an orange skin tight plastic vest being a completely over the top version of all his serious badass action roles.
Milla Jovovich - no more words needed!

I can see some of the stylistic stuff but if it doesn't have the same energy, strong supporting characters and overall sense of fun it just won't be good, this sort of space opera either needs to be grim-dark or fast and fun the middle ground doesn't work IMO.
Hopefully the trailer isn't selling it right though plenty of them do (the 5th element trailer I just watched on youtube was pretty poor for example)

AMKC

Only heard about this movie on Making The Movies and must say it looks stunning. Never knew anything about it before. Always good to have another sci-fi movie to look forward to. As for Jupiter Ascending I enjoyed that movie and would have no problem watching it again.

pixelburp

A more 'plot' based trailer has been released; nothing too spoiler-ridden though. Still looks like a colourful, potentially fun space opera, though must admit some of the CGI looks a little ropey in places - particularly the aliens that look suspiciously like those from Avatar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6wHXJR2-K8

Sad Professor

I think the dodgy CGI is part of the style the film is going for.

constitutionus

might still be working on it.

wouldnt be the first flims who's effects looked ropey in early trailers.

but even it its as good as it gets its one BEAUTIFUL looking universe theyre building . i see the avatar comparisons but it still feels like besons style (keep thinking of 5th element )

its right up my street anyway. god knows we need more "original " properties on the scifi front and even though this is based on a comic its prob as close as were gonna get for its scale.

should be fun.

Slydice

That trailer is much improved on the first one.

brianregan09

1st time hearing of this and as much as i don't like either lead it looks visually amazing I think a film like this needs to be seen in the cinema

pixelburp

constitutionus wrote: »

might still be working on it.

wouldnt be the first flims who's effects looked ropey in early trailers.

but even it its as good as it gets its one BEAUTIFUL looking universe theyre building . i see the avatar comparisons but it still feels like besons style (keep thinking of 5th element )

its right up my street anyway. god knows we need more "original " properties on the scifi front and even though this is based on a comic its prob as close as were gonna get for its scale.

Oh it absolutely feels like the 5th Element: Besson has claimed he always wanted to adapt Valerian, so I wonder if 5th Element was his first stab at a big-budget space opera, perhaps after failing to get the rights to adapt.

Agree about the 'original' comment: assuming this doesn't end up a total stinker, I hope it does well in the cinema and the people who moan about a lack of originality in their blockbusters actually bother to reward something original.

conorhal

The new trailer definately feels like 5th Element 2, but jesus it seems utterly devoid of charm or personality. Perhaps it the sterilizing wash of CGI or perhaps Cara Delevingne's charisma black hole has sucked it all out......

In truth it has been a very long time since Besson has delivered anything but garbage and I can easily see Valerian leaving a John Carter sized crater in the Summer seasons box office.

pixelburp

The 'final' trailer has been released; having recently watched 5th Element again, you can really see the genetic links between it and Valerian. Hope this turns out to be as good as it looks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcIlQFPbPnM

AMKC

I think it looks really good and am looking forward to going to see it.

constitutionus

pixelburp wrote: »

The 'final' trailer has been released; having recently watched 5th Element again, you can really see the genetic links between it and Valerian. Hope this turns out to be as good as it looks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcIlQFPbPnM

so the villain is basically moya from farscape, the dog from John Carter, and the aquatic lads from the star wars prequels .



ah i cant keep this up , that looks great ! i honestly dont know how the story will turn out but its looking to be the most visually creative and stunning film of the year. bout time someone in the Sci/Fi world decided to give guardians a run for its visual effects money.

cant wait.

JP Liz V1

Is Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne the leads?

Slydice

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

Is Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne the leads?

Yes, if the trailers and reviews are anything to go by.

Harry Palmr

Crash and burnt

From boxofficemojo opening weekend numbers.

---

Screens--Box Office

---

Budget
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets 3,553 - $17,007,624 - $177,200,000

fluke

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Crash and burnt

From boxofficemojo opening weekend numbers.

---

Screens--Box Office

---

Budget
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets 3,553 - $17,007,624 - $177,200,000

Seems like you're beaming about that.

TerrorFirmer

Is it a sort of stand alone film or deliberately set up as the first in an expected franchise? I don't think I'd bother watching if now if the latter knowing a sequel won't happen, eg, something like the rebooted Star Trek works perfectly fine as a self contained film if you chose not to watch the sequels, whereas something like Divergent or The Maze Runner would make for pretty pointless viewing if you did the same as there is no storyline or character conclusions whatsoever.

Harry Palmr

Seems like you're beaming about that.

Why? I'm interested in the business of cinema rather than most of the films these days I have to admit! The production company covered about 90% of the production costs with various pre-sales and other scheming to lower their huge exposure and it appears they were right to do so.

pixelburp

Opening in the US the same weekend as Dunkirk was an absolutely insane move for any film, let alone an expensive, FX heavy blockbuster.

There was never any chance an unknown IP would do well against the latest release from one of the most famous working directors out there. Not a hope.

What reviews I have read seem to point towards a terrible story wrapped around amazing visuals.

Harry Palmr

The company must have thought it would be a good case of counter-programming after all the films could hardly be more different and yet both will have been strongly male skewed.

pixelburp

Harry Palmr wrote: »

The company must have thought it would be a good case of counter-programming after all the films could hardly be more different and yet both will have been strongly male skewed.

Maybe if there was a strong marketing campaign, or if the IP was already fairly well known in the US that tactic would have merit, but neither of those were the case. Outside of France the comic is borderline non-existent, and Luc Besson isn't exactly as strong a pull as Christopher Nolan.

Still looking forward to this all the same, and who knows, perhaps international box-office will prop up the numbers; and there's always home / streaming success to factor in.

fluke

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Why? I'm interested in the business of cinema rather than most of the films these days I have to admit! The production company covered about 90% of the production costs with various pre-sales and other scheming to lower their huge exposure and it appears they were right to do so.

Just seems like you're gloating a little at something not doing well.

constitutionus

looks more like a case of the americans just not getting it to me.

exact same thing happened with the fifth element.

that only made 63mil there vrs 200 in the rest of the world.

if it does a pacific rim/ world of war craft in china no one'll care and he'll get his sequel. most of the video reviews ive seen seem to scream "we KNOW this will be a cult classic in years time but were fuked if we can say its good now"

now thats NOT to say it could be a massive load of bollocks. but its undeniable that french Sci/fi is a HELL of alot different than american Sci/fi. a casual glance at any 70/80 french animated fare will prove that.

so it could be just cultural differences.

either way tanking in the states aint the deathknell it used to be.

constitutionus

well i went to see it today and i thought it was great !



good aul popcorn muncher. its like a weird combination of babylon 5 and dan dare with a dash of bond.

the effects are sumptious.

i went to see it in 2D but i gotta say there looks to be a TON of stuff to fan service a 3D viewing so i reckon thats the format to see it in (bit like doctor strange was last year). but either way i enjoyed myself no end.

i can see why the yanks are thrown though. theres stuff in this ya could interpret as politically incorrect if you go looking for it and the sexual dynamics between the two leads is now something that's frowned on by the snowflake set over there. but seeing as us europeans arent half as fuked up in the head as the yanks yet it came off like i reckon besson intended it to be.

funny.

particularly at valerians expense.

theres nothing too deep here in terms of the story. its a bog standard intrigue fare as the two leads try to find out whats happening and who's responsible for it, but its enough to hold the attention. at least for about 2 thirds of it when it gets a bit flabby. but it resolves itself well enough and TBH your just gobsmaked at the amount of SHEER ingeniunty in this in relation to design and even weaponry.

i'll tell you one thing, those DX or whatever robots are some sexy bastards and i could watch them in action all day.

solid 7/10 from me.

its not excellent , but very good IMO and certainly not the carcrash the american box office would have you belive.

its got that french sci fi thing where everyone looks too young cept the leaders/generals types, it doesnt follow the usual american tropes on how heroic characters act or even if they survive, and its got some mad guest stars (ethen hawke, rutger hauer and herbie hancock of all people ! ). i reckon my only real gripe with it is like ALL big films these days its just a tad too long. still ya can do ALOT worse and im sure in a decade the american will get it, just like its spiritual precedent.

dunworth1

went to see this yesterday

the visuals are incredible the story isn't too bad either

totally worth a watch on the big screen

Flaccus

I saw it last night.  Nice visuals but the acting and dialog were so bad I'd give it a 3 out of 10.  Atrocious.

AMKC

So I went and seen this today and loved it. Its looks sumptuous and amazing. The aliens all look amazing too. Rihanna looks amazing in it too and has at least a dozen different outfits in it. I don,t think its The Fifth Element its its own unique film. The story is simple enough but its there and not what any of them reviewers have been saying. I also found the film very funny to as there is lots of humor in it. Maybe the end could have been done a little better as its a little dragged out overall do I really enjoyed it and am going to go see it a second time. I give it 8 out of 10.


@constitutionus Its got that french sci fi thing where everyone looks too young cept the leaders/generals types, it doesnt follow the usual american tropes on how heroic characters act or even if they survive, and its got some mad guest stars (ethen hawke, rutger hauer and herbie hancock of all people ! ). i reckon my only real gripe with it is like ALL big films these days its just a tad too long. still ya can do ALOT worse and im sure in a decade the american will get it, just like its spiritual precedent.

I agree with you on the last bit. I think maybe more could have been done at the beginning of the film as that part seemed a little rushed at less at the end of the film.

Corholio

Besson as outdone himself here and when I say outdone himself I mean in a way that he seems to have put a lot of effort into a film only for it to come out feeling like the exact opposite. No wide release film in 2017 should have awful dialogue like this has, it's really weirdly spoken too, as if Besson is loosely translating it from French and it doesn't come out right. I can already see people saying this will be a cult classic and misunderstood etc and I definitely disagree that it should. It doesn't have the charm of one of those or the laugh at itself moments that a lot of these films have. It's comparison to Fifth Element is comparable is look but not even close in feeling, the universe in Fifth Element is head and shoulders more enjoyable and more heartening than Valerian's.

I'm usually someone who likes these type of films too, it has little moments of cleverness but I ended up coming out of it quite disappointed. Not all kooky, 'mad' films are good in that famous 'endearing' way and imo this is certainly not.

ohnonotgmail

Planning on seeing this tomorrow afternoon. Worth seeing it in 3D?

FunLover18

ohnonotgmail wrote:

Planning on seeing this tomorrow afternoon. Worth seeing it in 3D?

I would also like to know the answer to this

FunLover18

FunLover18 wrote:

I would also like to know the answer to this

Well I'm just out and I don't even know if I can say it's worth seeing full stop

ohnonotgmail

FunLover18 wrote: »

Well I'm just out and I don't even know if I can say it's worth seeing full stop

and the 3d?

CiDeRmAn

I've seen it twice now, loved it more the second time!
But, the two leads have no charisma, and spend a good deal of it behaving like teenagers.
I think the fact that they are in love even at the start of the film might have made their performances authentic.
The dialogue isn't great either, and I don't think it compares well to 5th Element, particularly its use of its stars and the chemistry therein.
Also, not as effective use of humour I think.
That said, it was simply spectacular and the incidental characters, from Bubble to Bob the Sub driver were great fun.
I wouldn't be surprised if I see it a third time!

FunLover18

ohnonotgmail wrote:

and the 3d?

Saw it in 2D as I didn't fancy paying extra. Glad I didn't. Some great ideas that are absolutely wasted in favour of think thought out story. The main actors have no chemistry and none of their "quips" landed for me.

Josey Wales

I'm surprised how much I disliked this film. I went in hoping for a film as good as The Fifth Element but ended up hating it. I disliked the two central characters and not much actually happens despite the long runtime. I think it could benefit from trimming about 45 minutes from the film and there is a lot of fat to trim.

correction

I really enjoyed it. The story is absolutely weak and not particularly interesting but I loved hanging out in the world of the movie. Stunning to look at the visuals and effects, I'd happily give it a 7/10 and would have maybe gone to 8 if they shaved 15 minutes off it near the end.

Sudden Valley

Although the story dragged in places i thought overall it is a fine scifi movie. The two main leads relationship did not work but separately i found both characters endearing. Better alien movie than covenant anyway.