Crazy cinematic magic
worst is its two-hour-plus length), you can’t accuse it of being lazy.
So even if you think the acting is a bit pedestrian, the script a tad cliched or the costumes a little on-the-nose, it’s all in service of Besson’s unique vision. (Valerian is more in line with The Fifth Element than his beloved crime drama Leon: The Professional). So you can take it or leave it.
Major Valerian is played by Dane DeHaan, a young actor whose usually earnest features have in the past lent themselves to navel-gazing teen roles and slightly unhinged villains. Here, DeHaan has a stab at being the cocky young heartthrob – not his natural milieu but definitely aided by Sergeant Laureline’s (Cara Delevingne) feisty banter and lovely looks. Delevingne is first and foremost a famous British model, currently building a respectable acting career and her innate confidence helps to lift Valerian‘s slightly limp game.
The plot involves visiting various planets, saving this and that, and fighting the other – but the story isn’t what makes Valerian fun. What’s awesome is Besson’s vision of space travel and extra-terrestrial life, rendered in sometimes galling CGI reminiscent of Avatar or smartly evoking the legendary bar and market scenes of the Star Wars movies.
After a charming opener, which presents a utopian history of space exploration, he builds worlds which truly make you go ‘‘wow’’ – the dizzying consumerism of the Big Market a particular highlight.
The cameos, however, bring mixed reviews: Ethan Hawke is non-ironically awful, and the welcome return of Clive Owen utterly squandered. But then Rihanna makes her much-heralded appearance as a shape-shifting performer, and all is forgiven.
If you’re after light entertainment, heavy spectacle and a tinge of crazy cinematic magic, Valerian will deliver. - Sarah Watt