A dark force threatens Alpha, a vast metropolis and home to species from a thousand planets. Special operatives Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguar... Read allA dark force threatens Alpha, a vast metropolis and home to species from a thousand planets. Special operatives Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.A dark force threatens Alpha, a vast metropolis and home to species from a thousand planets. Special operatives Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.
- Awards
- 11 nominations
- Captain Welcoming Arysum
- (as Benoit Jacquot)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThere are 200 different alien species in this movie. Writer, producer, and director Luc Besson wrote a 600-page book describing in detail all the species. The actors had to read that book prior to filming so they could adjust their performances depending upon the species with whom they were interacting.
- GoofsWhen Valerian gets the 'Update' when they arrive at Alpha, Alex says that since leaving Earth the station has traveled almost 700 million miles (7.5AU), which, if true, would mean that in 400+ years they hadn't even reached the orbit of Saturn yet (which is 9.5AU from the sun), something that probes can do in under 10 years. A good example is Voyager 1, which in 40 years has traveled over 12 BILLION miles from Earth and is now in interstellar space.
- Quotes
Doghan-Dagui: We know how humans work.
Doghan-Dagui: They're all so predictable.
Sergeant Laureline: Clearly you've never met a woman.
- Crazy creditsThe subtitle of this film, City of a Thousand Planets, is an amalgam of the titles of the first two Valerian comics, "City of Shifting Waters," and "Empire of a Thousand Planets."
- ConnectionsFeatured in Alexiane: A Million on My Soul (2017)
- SoundtracksSpace Oddity
Written by David Bowie
Performed by David Bowie
(c) Onward Music
(p) Jones/Tintoretto Entertainment Company LLC
With courtesy of Fairwood Music/Editer à Paris
Based on 60s French cult comic series "Valerian & Laureline" - mystery to me why didn't they keep that title -, the magnificent opening sequence sets the tone for a more esoteric approach to Sci-Fi than "Star Wars". I won't let on about the story too much so as not to ruin any element of surprise. Let's just say they really should have lost the romantic chitchat. It makes the film drag at inconvenient times. With real writers, this could have become a classic.
The draw is the eye candy and there's plenty of it. Again I cannot in good conscience divulge any details. Again let's just say that one gets treated to the most creative use of lemons in the history of film. I'll have to watch it again to catch all the pop art references. Aliens were never more beautiful, more sophisticated, more varied. And while the Rihanna scene cannot compete with the opera scene in "5th Element", it's the best use of a performance act in film in years.
Alas, when one thinks "5th Element", the main weaknesses of "Valerian" stands out clearly: mediocre acting and a terrible script. Bloodless DeHaan is the most dreadfully miscast lead since Tom Hiddleston in "Kong: Skull Island". Why didn't they cast the likes of Theo James with over $200 mil to burn? Cara Delevingne is cool but no Milla Jovovich - Besson loved Jovovich for real and the camera and editing really showed that. Delevingne's Laureline comes across as a run-of-the-mill heroine even though she's doing a solid job. Clive Owen cannot even remotely compare to Gary Oldman's Hitleresque splendor. Strangely enough, the CGI aliens do the best acting and have all the memorable lines. Besson's script-writing has always been shaky but seems to get progressively worse.
Still, compared to this year's Hollywood fare of sequels, yet another superhero franchise and musicals with thespians who cannot sing, "Valerian" is infinitely more entertaining.
- Radu_A
- Jul 20, 2017
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Valerian
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $177,200,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $41,189,488
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $17,007,624
- Jul 23, 2017
- Gross worldwide
- $225,973,340
- Runtime2 hours 16 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1