The Fifth Element . Tucson Weekly . 05-15-97

The Fifth Element

DIRECTED BY: Luc Besson

REVIEWED: 05-15-97

Writer and director Luc Besson sacrifices sensibility for style in this excessively fashion-designed science fiction movie. Besson, known for Subway, La Femme Nikita and The Professional, tries here for a sort of Blade Runner/Star Wars hybrid but ends up with something closer to Stargate meets Pret a Porter. But it's not just another sci-fi flop--the film has a distinct French flavor (even hero Bruce Willis' cat looks French)--and you can't take your eyes off the screen even when it's mind-numbing to watch. As with The Professional, the story places intense emphasis on the preternatural beauty of a young woman (Milla Jovovich) who, this time, is turned into a half-naked, super-powerful-yet-sweetly-vulnerable Raggedy Ann doll. Gary Oldman once again plays the villain; now a new-wave Hitler cowboy with buck teeth. If Besson took any of this seriously, the movie would reek; he didn't, so it's just an eye-poppingly bizarre experience.

--Zachary Woodruff

Full Length Reviews
The Fifth Element
The Fifth Element

Other Films by Luc Besson
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc

Film Vault Suggested Links
Starship Troopers
Tank Girl
War of the Worlds

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