Valerian

[GORDON]

A new Luc Besson sci-fi flick that just came up on my radar.

http://www.denofgeek.us/movies....alerian

Luc Besson has announced over Twitter that Clive Owen is being added to the cast of his ambitious sci-fi movie, Valerian. He joins a cast that includes Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevigne. The budget for the movie is being pegged at around $180 million.

Been a fan of his since The Fifth Element.

[Malcolm]

Ah yes, Luc, the dude that casts pedos as protagonists.

[Leisher]

Luc Besson's latest.

[Malcolm]

His flicks never hold up.

[Leisher]

Trailer:

His flicks never hold up.

Yeah, people really hate The Fifth Element now...

[GORDON]

I watched the video and was about to say, "I want this to be a sequel to The Fifth Element," and then I saw your comment. I still think that though.

[Malcolm]

Yeah, people really hate The Fifth Element now...

That thing keeps moving up my list of "Most Overrated Movies of All-Time." It's simply not that good.

[Leisher]

Yeah, people really hate The Fifth Element now...

That thing keeps moving up my list of "Most Overrated Movies of All-Time." It's simply not that good.

Weird because the rest of the world loves it.

Do you need a time out or safe space? I don't want you to be triggered.

[GORDON]

Been wondering if Alhazad is out there rioting.

[GORDON]

I watched the video and was about to say, "I want this to be a sequel to The Fifth Element," and then I saw your comment. I still think that though.

While watching this movie tonight, now and then I would see parallels and wonder if they share a universe. It... could... almost be.

Couple problems I noticed immediately, while watching it...

1. The movie couldn't seem to pick a tone. Sometimes it was simple and childlike, other times the protagonist is cutting through sentient creatures like a scythe in a wheat field, and shooting humans in the head.

2. Our two heroes look like they are about 14 years old, and it made the romance subplot... a little icky. I don't know. My wife just says they look so young because I'm so old. But they do, and compared to every other cast member they are like a foot and a half shorter. They look like children.

But it had its pretty moments, and its Luc Beeson moments, and it was worth seeing.

[TheCatt]

The main guy is 31, the main woman is 24, and both are exactly 5'8" according to Wikipedia.

[GORDON]

He looks 14. She looks 16. Look at the video image a few posts up, it isn't deceptive.

[TheCatt]

He looks 14. She looks 16. Look at the video image a few posts up, it isn't deceptive.

I don't watch spoilers trailers, but the thumbnail does make them look young.

[Leisher]

Luc Besson is sick of superheroes and is ignorant about Captain America's origins.

Maybe if he had seen Captain America he'd understand that the character was INTENDED to be propaganda and that's how he got his name...

[TheCatt]

I'm a little tired of super hero movies myself.

[Leisher]

I'm a little tired of super hero movies myself.

I'm not, but I am concerned that there's too many of them being made. (Too many sub-par ones...) People will eventually get sick of seeing them.

Although, if we're being fair, what is a superhero?

Couldn't we say Lelu was a superhero? Not everyone can learn by reading at the speed of a computer and shoot a beam of light out that stops pure evil the size of a planet.

How about a father who kills half of Eastern Europe to get his daughter back?

How about a mysterious man who transports things and is basically a killing machine that also happens to be the best driver on the planet?

How about a woman who gets accidentally exposed to a drug and then has the ability to do basically everything, including a whole lot of fighting with "super powers"?

These are all Luc Besson films...

Point being, was Arnold the superhero of the 80s? Stallone? Van Damme? Chan? Willis? Seagal? These guys all faced ridiculously impossible odds and situations, yet emerged victorious and unscathed. They were heros, but weren't their deeds super?

How about heroes and villains with the ability to run like the Flash, shoot lightning like Thor/Storm, manipulate minds like Prof X, use telekinesis like X-Man/Cable/Phoenix/etc., and so on? Aren't they superheros, but just called something different?

[TheCatt]

Super hero in this context = made from comic book. There's still interesting tales to tell, but too often they're just formulaic. I don't agree with Besson's critique entirely.

[Leisher]

This movie was terrible.

LOVED the concept of the "city of a thousand planets", but the execution is piss poor.

Gordo is 100% right about the protagonists. I haven't seen casting this bad in a long time. No "grizzled vet" should look like he's just about to get his learner's permit. He starts the movie off topless and I cannot imagine there has ever been a more chicken chested leading man. He looked like Steve Rodgers before the procedure that turned him into Captain America.

The girl looks more grown up in other films (she's the Enchantress in Suicide Squad), so it's curious that they made her look so young here.

This could honestly have been Avatar 2 and everyone would have believed it. The main aliens, Pearls, look almost exactly like the Navi. They live spiritually with nature. The humans, specifically the military, are the bad guys. The scenes with the Pearls were all clean and perfect looking. All other scenes were dirty and filled with consumerism and corporate greed.

The only thing missing is unobtanium.

Also, Valerian is about as "super hero" as it gets. He barely breaks a sweat during the entire movie. He also single-handedly does things that a heavily armed and armored military unit fails to do, so I'd love Luc Besson to explain how this guy differs from a super hero. Oh, and this is based on a comic book, so...

Skip this movie.