[movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

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Daehawk
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[movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by Daehawk »

This is a director Luc Besson (The Fifth Element, Lucy, The Professional) movie. Man 20 years since 5th Element..f me. Anyways it holds a little promise. Not sure who is familiar with it..I wasn't.

IMDB page
Time-traveling agent Valerian is sent to investigate a galactic empire, along with his partner Laureline.
A small info trailer

The WIKI which shows a cast list. Some seem a strange choice.

Dane DeHaan[4] as Valérian
Cara Delevingne[4] as Laureline
Clive Owen[4] as Commander Arün Filitt
Sam Spruell as General Okto Bar
Rihanna[5]
Ethan Hawke[4]
John Goodman
Alain Chabat
Mathieu Kassovitz
Herbie Hancock[5]
Kris Wu[6]
Rutger Hauer

And the IGN link where I found the story and its poster for Comic Con

Enlarge Image
Rooted in the classic graphic novel series, Valerian and Laureline -- visionary writer/director Luc Besson advances this iconic source material into a contemporary, unique and epic science fiction saga.

Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are special operatives for the government of the human territories charged with maintaining order throughout the universe. Valerian has more in mind than a professional relationship with his partner, blatantly chasing after her with propositions of romance. But his extensive history with women, and her traditional values, drive Laureline to continuously rebuff him.

Under directive from their Commander (Clive Owen), Valerian and Laureline embark on a mission to the breathtaking intergalactic city of Alpha, an ever-expanding metropolis comprised of thousands of different species from all four corners of the universe. Alpha's seventeen million inhabitants have converged over time -- uniting their talents, technology and resources for the betterment of all. Unfortunately, not everyone on Alpha shares in these same objectives; in fact, unseen forces are at work, placing our race in great danger.
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by hepcat »

Cara Delevingne[4] as Laureline
She must play some kind of statue. Or perhaps a sofa.
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by LordMortis »

I love Besson's vision, though I am a heretic and don't actually care for The Fifth Element. I think it tried to be too many things to have an appeal for me. On the other hand, I might be the only person who absolutely loved The Messenger. I've yet to see Lucy. I should remedy that soon.

This looks to be something I would enjoy, though I really don't care for Ethan Hawke.
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by Isgrimnur »

You're better off not seeing Lucy. She'll insult you, and it'll cost you a nickel.
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by LordMortis »

Isgrimnur wrote:You're better off not seeing Lucy. She'll insult you, and it'll cost you a nickel.
That bad? Even with my pretty good ability to suspend disbelief for a the sake of the story?
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by Isgrimnur »

LordMortis wrote:
Isgrimnur wrote:You're better off not seeing Lucy. She'll insult you, and it'll cost you a nickel.
That bad? Even with my pretty good ability to suspend disbelief for a the sake of the story?
It's not bad, but it's not good, either. All the site ablobomaters put it in the 60-70% range.
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by GreenGoo »

Shrug. I liked it (Lucy) better the second time I watched it. It's not particularly special but I found it more enjoyable when I knew to only pay attention to the parts I liked.
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by Holman »

LordMortis wrote: This looks to be something I would enjoy, though I really don't care for Ethan Hawke.
I used to feel that way, but everything I've seen him do lately has been excellent.

The cast list above is 50% actors I really like and 50% actors I've never heard of, so the odds look good to me.

But even if the cast were The Spice Girls and Steven Seagal, it's still Luc Besson doing full-on space opera. How is that not an instant ticket?
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by hepcat »

Holman wrote: But even if the cast were The Spice Girls and Steven Seagal, it's still Luc Besson doing full-on space opera. How is that not an instant ticket?
How is The Spice Girls and Steven Seagal in a movie not the best damn thing ever? :shock:

...wait...would we still have Carla Delevingne?
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by Jeff V »

hepcat wrote:
Holman wrote: But even if the cast were The Spice Girls and Steven Seagal, it's still Luc Besson doing full-on space opera. How is that not an instant ticket?
How is The Spice Girls and Steven Seagal in a movie not the best damn thing ever? :shock:
But it's a remake of "Cocoon."
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by hepcat »

Go on...I'm listening.
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by hitbyambulance »

the last Luc Besson film i saw was "Angel A", which put me off seeing anything else he does ever again.
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by Daveman »

Daehawk wrote: Sam Spruell as General Okto Bar
Admiral Ackbar was so sad his brother chose West Point over Annapolis.
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by McNutt »

I was very impressed with The Professional and looked forward to Besson's next work. After The Fifth Element and The Messenger, his name being attached to a project means nothing to me.
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by Daehawk »

Official trailer #1

Loved that sound track.
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by Scuzz »

Boy, there looks like a lot of stuff going down there. Very visual. Based on reviews (I know, the cowards way out) I will probably see this.
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by Fitzy »

I thought the trailer was awful.

Boob armor? Just ugh.

Some of the scenes looked like they were stolen directly from Star Wars Episode 1-2. The underwater chase and the cityscapes to be exact.

The pacing of the trailer was dull. The lines were terrible. And apparently the main character is a Trump wanna be, trying to sexually assault his co-worker.

Pass. Big pass.
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by Daehawk »

The trailer made me think Mass Effect . I liked the look.
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by Skinypupy »

While the female lead looks to have all the charisma of a tire iron, it's still a Besson sci-fi film, which means I'll give it a shot.
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by Rumpy »

Fitzy wrote:I thought the trailer was awful.

Ehh yeah, agreed. I also felt the soundtrack didn't fit and instead caused a disconnect. Actually looks very generic. The city actually reminded me more of the one from The Fifth Element though.
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by hepcat »

Do we really need a 2 hour movie about Jar Jar Binks home world?
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by Moat_Man »

hepcat wrote:Do we really need a 2 hour movie about Jar Jar Binks home world?
Me so in!
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by hepcat »

I just had a horrible, horrible image of Jar Jar Binks in Full Metal Jacket...
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by Kraken »

"Generic" is a good word. Looks like a formulaic, by-the-numbers sfx action thriller. Not my kind of movie, but I'm open to changing my mind if the reviews are kind.
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by IceBear »

LordMortis wrote:
Isgrimnur wrote:You're better off not seeing Lucy. She'll insult you, and it'll cost you a nickel.
That bad? Even with my pretty good ability to suspend disbelief for a the sake of the story?
I think he was making a Charlie Brown reference. He could have been warning you off from the movie too
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by Isgrimnur »

Yup. :D
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by D.A.Lewis »

Just saw the trailer. It looked pretty bad, Definitely getting a Dune-5th Element and yes Jar Jar Blinks vibe. . . . However, such eye candy. beautiful, beautiful, sci fi visual porn. I am so in.
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by Grifman »

The leads are just too young looking. They are supposed to be veteran "special operatives" but look like high school kids, but maybe that is the source material. They also look a lot like brother and sister to me, so sex is kind of icky.
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by $iljanus »

Grifman wrote:The leads are just too young looking. They are supposed to be veteran "special operatives" but look like high school kids, but maybe that is the source material. They also look a lot like brother and sister to me, so sex is kind of icky.
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by Odin »

This was another trailer that played before Fantastic Beasts this weekend. It left me with two thoughts. First was: "what the hell is this thing?" The second was: "Without actually checking his IMDB page, I can't think of a single Luc Besson movie that I've seen and disliked, and I think I've seen quite a few of them. So I'll give this one a chance." (And then I went and checked his IMDB page, and while I've seen only a fraction of the films he's been involved in, I've liked them all. Point of No Return, Leon the Professional, The Fifth Element, Lucy, District 13, the Transporter, and Taken.)
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by TheMix »

Odin wrote:Point of No Return, Leon the Professional, The Fifth Element, Lucy, District 13, the Transporter, and Taken.
Except for the first monstrosity, that's a pretty good list. Replace that piece of crap with the original La Femme Nikita, and you've got a list I can agree with.

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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by Daehawk »

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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by rshetts2 »

As much as I want to believe this will be good, putting Cara Delevingne in a starring role immediately moves this to meh level, especially after seeing her in Suicide Squad. I will likely see this in the theatres for Beeson's visuals, at a cheap matinee or something. No way am I paying full price to see Cara try to "act" again.
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by Zaxxon »

Besson has an automatic ticket purchase from me for life for the combo of Leon and Fifth Element.

Also hearing about how long he's wanted to make this film, just waiting for the tech to catch up, makes me think he has perhaps thought things through pretty well. He's certainly had the time to do so.
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by AWS260 »

The New York Times attempts to describe Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets:
Imagine crushing a DVD of “The Phantom Menace” into a fine powder, tossing in some Adderall and Ecstasy and a pinch of cayenne pepper and snorting the resulting mixture while wearing a virtual reality helmet in a Las Vegas karaoke bar. Actually, that sounds like too much fun, but you get the idea.
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by $iljanus »

AWS260 wrote:The New York Times attempts to describe Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets:
Imagine crushing a DVD of “The Phantom Menace” into a fine powder, tossing in some Adderall and Ecstasy and a pinch of cayenne pepper and snorting the resulting mixture while wearing a virtual reality helmet in a Las Vegas karaoke bar. Actually, that sounds like too much fun, but you get the idea.
Hmmm, that sounds like an interesting experience... :ninja:
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by Brian »

I've heard it described as a "beautiful disaster."
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by Kraken »

The Globe's review today said
All well and good except for the casting. Dane DeHaan, an excellent young actor (“Kill Your Darlings”) with a Satanic glimmer in his eye, is no one’s idea of a derring-do hero, not even his own, it seems — the performance is flat and unengaged. As Laureline, Cara Delevingne is a dud, unable to pitch Besson’s wan sardonic-romantic banter with any sort of curve. These two are the leads, and yet their scenes feel distressingly rote, a concession to cliché rather than a riff on it.

...

In short, Besson builds a dazzling alterna-universe — a bit of Terry Gilliam, a dash of “Blade Runner,” a smidgen of “Star Wars” (which, to be fair, was probably influenced by the original comic), and a lot of extra-strength Besson-ian whimsy. And then he strands us with the two least interesting people there.
I added it to my netflix queue, so I'll get to it in a year or so.
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by Zaxxon »

I'm definitely going to go see it, if for no other reasons than I loved Leon and The Fifth Element and this one screams for a large screen.

But it sounds like perhaps he struck out on his leads, unlike with Leon (Natalie Portman and Jean Reno) and TFE (Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich). Too bad.
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Re: [movie] Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Post by Skinypupy »

All well and good except for the casting. Dane DeHaan, an excellent young actor (“Kill Your Darlings”) with a Satanic glimmer in his eye, is no one’s idea of a derring-do hero, not even his own, it seems — the performance is flat and unengaged. As Laureline, Cara Delevingne is a dud, unable to pitch Besson’s wan sardonic-romantic banter with any sort of curve. These two are the leads, and yet their scenes feel distressingly rote, a concession to cliché rather than a riff on it.
Bummer. This was my primary concern about this one, that it would look cool but be hamstrung by awful actors.
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