'Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets' Has a Cool, Gorgeous World... Aaannnd That's About It

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is a science fiction film based on the French comics Valérian and Laureline.  It follows Major Valerian (Dane DeHanaan), a special police agent of the Human Federation, and his no-nonsense partner Sergeant Laureline (Cara Delevingne) as they investigate a mysterious threat developing at the center of Alpha – a gigantic space-faring city that evolved from the International Space Station in which countless races from various planets are living peacefully and exchanging their knowledge and cultures.

Its triumphs as a sci-fi movie are its worldbuilding and visuals.  The CGI and cinematography are breathtaking.  Alpha, the eponymous “city of a thousand planets”, is extremely impressive, and I loved every nook and cranny of that place.  Also, I was blown away by the on-planet VR marketplace they visited early in the movie – very original.

Director Luc Besson has effectively developed a spellbinding world that features wonderful futuristic technology and gadgets; a rich diversity of fascinating, weird alien creatures; stunning landscapes; and an intriguing United-Nations-in-space system in place.

Unfortunately, aside from being pretty to look at, it has nothing else to offer.  The story is so run-of-the-mill, totally unworthy of the grand setting it’s taking place in.  There’s a major romantic subplot happening between Valerian and Laureline, which is quite boring.  It’s probably because they are so poorly realized as characters, there’s little chemistry between them, and the acting of their respective actors is so unengaging.  I’ve seen DeHanaan act better in other movies (see Chronicle), but he’s so devoid of charisma here.  Meanwhile, Cara Delevingne may be pretty, but she really lacks personality (also, I just can’t unsee her as Enchantress in Suicide Squad, ridiculous dancing and all).

Watching Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets should have been delightful, even if it’s just for being sheer eye candy.  But the joyless performances and bland storytelling really suck the enjoyment in the end.

Instead of discussing more of how much this movie had been a letdown for me, I think it’ll be more pleasing for everyone if I end this review with a bunch of beautiful Valerian images, enunciating the only aspect of supreme value in this movie (again, a cool, gorgeous world).

Enjoy: