VFX Oscar glory seems inevitable, but a formulaic plot and underwhelming leads are just two of Valerian’s thousand problems.
A wildly ambitious space opera, but also a self-indulgent narrative morass. Sometimes, it seems, creativity can benefit from a few limitations.
An expensive folly from a director indulging his very worst tendencies.
While the Valerian-Laureline chemistry is watchable enough, despite DeHaan sleepwalking through his role, the big issue is that Besson fails to generate any real sense of danger.
A crash course in both the worst and best of French director Luc Besson, Valerian looks spectacular but its storytelling proves muddled.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is a summer movie that leaves the block unbusted. In fact, it leaves the block pristine and box-fresh and, if you kept the receipt, in a fit condition to be returned to the block store.
Instead there is just a juvenile comic strip adventure that keeps its foot on the accelerator and hopes that you can forgive the lack of real substance beneath the razzle-dazzle swagger of its surface allure.
Luc Besson devises a terrific opening sequence, then loses the thread as thoroughly as Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne fail to kindle chemistry.
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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