Review of Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) by Phillip D — 07 Aug 2017

It's a damn shame people didn't go and see Valerian. It's a flawed film, full of poorly adapted, poorly aged 1960's romance, underdeveloped main characters, and two lead actors who clearly are still feeling out the business and might have been somewhat miscast to boot.

Clearly it suffers from a bit of John Carter syndrome, with source comics having been the inspiration for dozens of films that have already been made, thus making some of its items (see a certain alien species that looks directly lifted from Star Wars, among others) seem a bit redundant.

But under Besson's loving care, Valerian is still a film that sets the stage, Star Wars, Blade Runner, and Alien style, for a whole new era in science fiction atmosphere and visual presentation in film.

Although the genre has certainly produced excellent individual pieces recently (see Interstellar, Sunshine, and others), films that redefine science fiction visual worldbuilding have yet to come out of the new millennia.

Of particular note have been the abject failures of films like Ender's Game and John Carter, which sought to create a sense of atmosphere building on the near future science fiction subgenre perfected in shows and literature such as Atlantis and Honor Harrington, all drawing of course from original sources like Valerian, as well as Dune, the John Carter novels, and others.

Until this film adaptation however, a fully realized world has never managed to birth itself, although the Guardians of the Galaxy films have been making valiant efforts at architecture around its Marvel heroes (and the new Thor may really make a run at things).

But Valerian is all architecture, sometimes at the expense of all else. Surprisingly, this is mostly pure joy however. The film is gorgeously colorful, a welcome departure from other drab science fiction films of late, not to mention DC's blackout curtain vomit palate.

Each scene bursts with life and information, although Besson is smart enough not to crowd much narration into his magnum opus. Instead, the visuals speak for themselves or are left to mystery, two results that work surprisingly well.

And unlike in other films, where only bits and pieces could be grasped, in Besson's work, you can see the complete architecture for the visual background of an entire near future world, one which could be applied and adapted to any of the science fiction classics that fit that mold, such as Weber's many military based books, Timothy Zahn's wide variety of military and mystery novels, McDevitt's excellent catalog of xenoarchaeology reads, or even perhaps the nigh unadaptable A Fire Upon the Deep, a book I have been pining to see in film for some time.

It's this excitement that drove my viewing experience through a predictable, if serviceable plot. If there is a bright spot beyond Besson's worldbuilding, it's Delevingne's growing presence as an actress.

She is still working on line delivery and the film needed editing work (line delivery was not synced to lip movement at times) but as with a number of young actresses in the new generation, she is a talent who is carving out a niche based on a presence projection that has very little to do with her sexual appeal.

If Besson can spark a science fiction renaissance with this film, I would tap Delevingne for other parts, as she excels at projecting an otherworldly mystery that would serve her well in a number of rolls.

Overall, Valerian is a must see experience, as it marks the beginning of something new in the science fiction genre, even if it doesn't mark much new elsewhere. Highly recommend for those interested in science fiction.