Overall Rating
  Awesome: 28%
Worth A Look: 42.29%
Average: 12.57%
Pretty Bad: 5.71%
Total Crap: 11.43%
8 reviews, 127 user ratings
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Fifth Element, The |
by Ryan Arthur
"Negative, I am a meat popsicle."

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Mul-tee-pass.I loved this movie. But it wasn't because of Bruce Willis, and it wasn't because of Gary Oldman, and it sure as hell wasn't because of Milla Jovovich.
Just look at it.
It's visually stunning, probably the most visually rich film of 1997, and one of the best looking movies of the last several years. That, for me, made me overlook a shaky story (much like it would later in What Dreams May Come).
Evil is coming, and only Leeloo (Jovovich) can stop it. Leeloo is actually the Fifth Element of the title (the other four being earth, wind, water and fire, natch). The Fifth Element animates the inanimate, and makes it a powerful force which can stop evil, which in this particular incarnation has taken the form of a gigantic fireball heading towards earth. Leeloo is helped by Korben Dallas (Willis), who, despite being a decorated military guy, doesn't really want anything to do with it. He just thinks Leeloo's hot. Throw in the evil Zorg (Gary Oldman), who wants to bring the destruction to earth, Father Cornelius (the always dependable Ian Holm), who's helping Leeloo and Dallas, and Ruby Rhod (Chris Tucker), a fast-talking space DJ who likes to wear dresses, and you've got a quirky group of characters in a sci-fi marvel.
The story itself is a bit of a mess. Writer/director Luc Besson wrote it when he was 13 and held onto it for a long time, eventually getting it made when he was older. It plays like it was written by a 13-year-old at times, too.
The performances weren't that great, either. Oldman plays the bad guy again, and all he does is make him buck-toothed with a southern accent. Willis is on autopilot, and I'm of the belief that Jovovich, despite her romantic attachment to the director, couldn't act if her life depended on it. She may look pretty, but that's about it. Only Ian Holm stood out as being used properly.
But boy, does it look good.
Skyscrapers mixed with a sort of grungy living conditions, and including costumes designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier. It looks fantastic, but is otherwise unremarkable.So tell me my man, are you nervous in the service?
link directly to this review at http://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=328&reviewer=7 originally posted: 11/03/98 02:51:05
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This film is available for download or online viewing at CinemaNow.com For more in the CinemaNow.com series, click here.
OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2013 Boston SciFi Film Festival For more in the 2013 Boston Sci-Fi Film Festival series, click here.
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USA 09-May-1997 (PG-13) DVD: 11-Jan-2005
UK 06-Jun-1997 (PG) DVD: 25-Oct-1999
Australia 15-May-1997 (PG)
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