Shale
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2016
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Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
DVD Blurb by Shale
November 22, 2017
This was another of those movies I missed when it opened on July 21, 2017. However, I got the DVD yesterday and am glad to have the opportunity to watch it twice because it is a bit difficult to follow the first time thru.
It is easy enuf to follow that we started out close to our time when a space station was built in Earth orbit. Then over the centuries it became progressively larger as more alien cultures from the galaxy started joining to the point where it was too large to remain in orbit – so in the 28th Century, off into space it moved to become Alpha, a huge city in space with thousands of alien cultures in different habitat planets.
Major Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Sergeant Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are police partners in a federal agency and are on a mission to get a “Mul Converter”, an alien animal that replicates anything it eats. They are extinct except for one that is located in a criminal element in the Big Market – which exists in another dimension but visitors wear special headsets so they can interact with it, like in virtual reality.
Valerian & Laureline at Big Market
They and their operatives infiltrate and catch the deal going down with a fat alien that reminds us of Jaba the Hut. With lots of action and chases, they get away with the Mul Converter and a “pearl” that contains some great quantity of energy.
Then the story goes from one intrigue or adventure or daring action getting from one to another that you just sit back, enjoy the ride and try to keep up. After watching the movie a second time, I managed to tie up all the loose ends I missed on the first watching and it was more enjoyable.
Of the other characters are Valerian and Laureline's commander, General Arün Filitt (Clive Owen) who is hard-nose military,
Jolly the Pimp (Ethan Hawke) where Valerian has to procure the services of an alien “glampod” shapeshifter named Bubble (Rihanna).
Bubble the Glampod in One Form
Also, at the beginning of the movie Valerian has a dream about a planet of humanoids living a peaceful life in paradise until some huge spacecraft start falling from the sky. In his dream is the Mul Converter – so this all ties in with the mission.
As you can guess, all this activity crammed into a 2 hour 17 minute movie has its detractors. And, even I agree it was hard to keep up with. The aggregate critics at Rotten Tomatoes only give it a 49% Fresh and only 55% of audiences liked it. The critics consensus was, “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets uses sheer kinetic energy and visual thrills to overcome narrative obstacles and offer a viewing experience whose surreal pleasures often outweigh its flaws.”
But, aside from all the problems, it is an enjoyable fantasy from a French comic book series, Valerian and Laureline.
DVD Blurb by Shale
November 22, 2017
This was another of those movies I missed when it opened on July 21, 2017. However, I got the DVD yesterday and am glad to have the opportunity to watch it twice because it is a bit difficult to follow the first time thru.
It is easy enuf to follow that we started out close to our time when a space station was built in Earth orbit. Then over the centuries it became progressively larger as more alien cultures from the galaxy started joining to the point where it was too large to remain in orbit – so in the 28th Century, off into space it moved to become Alpha, a huge city in space with thousands of alien cultures in different habitat planets.
Major Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Sergeant Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are police partners in a federal agency and are on a mission to get a “Mul Converter”, an alien animal that replicates anything it eats. They are extinct except for one that is located in a criminal element in the Big Market – which exists in another dimension but visitors wear special headsets so they can interact with it, like in virtual reality.
Valerian & Laureline at Big Market
They and their operatives infiltrate and catch the deal going down with a fat alien that reminds us of Jaba the Hut. With lots of action and chases, they get away with the Mul Converter and a “pearl” that contains some great quantity of energy.
Then the story goes from one intrigue or adventure or daring action getting from one to another that you just sit back, enjoy the ride and try to keep up. After watching the movie a second time, I managed to tie up all the loose ends I missed on the first watching and it was more enjoyable.
Of the other characters are Valerian and Laureline's commander, General Arün Filitt (Clive Owen) who is hard-nose military,
Jolly the Pimp (Ethan Hawke) where Valerian has to procure the services of an alien “glampod” shapeshifter named Bubble (Rihanna).
Bubble the Glampod in One Form
Also, at the beginning of the movie Valerian has a dream about a planet of humanoids living a peaceful life in paradise until some huge spacecraft start falling from the sky. In his dream is the Mul Converter – so this all ties in with the mission.
As you can guess, all this activity crammed into a 2 hour 17 minute movie has its detractors. And, even I agree it was hard to keep up with. The aggregate critics at Rotten Tomatoes only give it a 49% Fresh and only 55% of audiences liked it. The critics consensus was, “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets uses sheer kinetic energy and visual thrills to overcome narrative obstacles and offer a viewing experience whose surreal pleasures often outweigh its flaws.”
But, aside from all the problems, it is an enjoyable fantasy from a French comic book series, Valerian and Laureline.