‘Valerian’ is a feast for the eyes — just don’t listen too closely

One wants to adore the totally lunatic space opera “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.”

One really, REALLY wants to.

Two 28th century government agents traveling across the universe (not the galaxy — the UNIVERSE) on a sprawling mission that hops planets, dimensions and time itself, riffing on a French comic book from the swingin’ ’60s? As Philip Fry, hero of that other ga-ga sci-fi tale “Futurama” puts it, “Shut up and take my money!”

And yet, they do not make it easy.

Luc Besson’s newest entry into his Bananas Cinema Taken From the Comics of His Childhood is based on the remarkably influential French sci-fi comic “Valérian et Laureline.” Writen by Pierre Christin and drawn by Jean-Claude Mézières, the adventures of “Valérian et Laureline” ran from 1967 to 2010 and represents a shining example of genre comics at their most anythinggoes bonkers.

Special effects have only recently started to catch up to the worlds you can build on pen and paper, so it’s no wonder it cost about $227 million — about the cost of your average American summer blockbuster but a staggering amount for a French film — to bring this planetary romance to the big screen. (And I do mean big — watch this sucker on the largest screen you can find).

The first half an hour delivers, well, the universe. Set to