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The Fifth Element- A film I'll always remember

post #1 of 69
7/2/06 at 1:37am
Thread Starter 
Luc Besson's The Fifth Element has always been a special film in my heart. Even after all these years, its visuals and special effects seem as fresh as ever. So optimistic and full of life.

I still remember the 1930's priest character waving his key at the Mondoshawans, promising that he'll keep his promise. Milla Jovovich and Chris Tucker's Ruby Rod making their appearance. In fact, I think the film was the first time that I've ever been exposed to Milla and Chris (Isn't it so easy to get him confused with Chris Rock?) Tucker.

A true comic book movie with a breath of ...freshness I always appreciate.

Any The Fifth Element fans out there?
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post #2 of 69
7/2/06 at 1:57am
Milla Jollovich at her most gloriously nude, Gary Oldman at his most gloriously over-the-top, Ian Holm, John McClane in the future, and Deebo as president of earth. What's not to love?
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post #3 of 69
7/2/06 at 2:02am
Yeah, I've always enjoyed the film. It's a really fun sci-fi/ action flick.
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post #4 of 69
7/2/06 at 2:26am
It's a bad movie. But there's enough creativity in it to recommend it. It feels like a lavishly-produced 4-hour epic that ran out of money half way through so they just decided to have a gunfight and end it.

EDIT: Not to be too negative, It's the only film that nails the look of Heavy Metal magazine's Euro-sci-fi look in live action. Thanks, of course, to the contributions of Moebius. (did I spell his name right?)
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post #5 of 69
7/2/06 at 3:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by felix natalya
Chris (Isn't it so easy to get him confused with Chris Rock?) Tucker.
Given that they look and sound nothing alike, not really.
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post #6 of 69
7/2/06 at 3:25am
I'm sorry, but count me as one of the haters for this movie. Bruce looks bored throughout, Gary is unintellibible with that fast paced accent, and Chris is just GRATING as Ruby Rod. The clothing style looks like something off of a Euro-trash model catwalk for bondage wear. I could take it up to a certain point, but it totally lost me when the blue octopus opera chick started to sing...

I only saw it the one time in the theater, so maybe I should give it another try on dvd. Maybe it plays better on the small screen.
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post #7 of 69
7/2/06 at 4:16am
I love this film. I honestly don't see Tucker's character as annoying at all. He's just another part of this odd, beautiful, very comic-like world. I admit I don't watch it often, but I think that's what keeps it special. I'm glad I've found another person who appreciates this film as much as I do.
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post #8 of 69
7/2/06 at 5:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Judas Booth
I'm sorry, but count me as one of the haters for this movie. Bruce looks bored throughout, Gary is unintellibible with that fast paced accent, and Chris is just GRATING as Ruby Rod. The clothing style looks like something off of a Euro-trash model catwalk for bondage wear. I could take it up to a certain point, but it totally lost me when the blue octopus opera chick started to sing...

I only saw it the one time in the theater, so maybe I should give it another try on dvd. Maybe it plays better on the small screen.
Thank god there's somebody else out there who feels this way. I can't stand this movie. What makes it worse is that the introduction shows a lot of promise before spending the next two hours squandering it. I have watched it again, by the way. It didn't help.
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post #9 of 69
7/2/06 at 5:44am
Chris Tucker is an evil monster and deserves to die.
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post #10 of 69
7/2/06 at 5:44am
I don't know if he deserves to. But for the good of all mankind, he must.
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post #11 of 69
7/2/06 at 6:02am
It has it's flaws, but overall a nice attempt.
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post #12 of 69
7/2/06 at 6:14am
Thread Starter 
What i like about this movie is its raw freshness and optimism. It's an odd animal of sorts, combining old Sci-fi Serial cliches with an Eric Serra (my favourite composer) soundtrack. Add in Chris Tucker, Milla Jovovich and a deadpan Bruce Willis and you have a flick that is vivdly memorable in any case.

What is really striking is that how good the set design and special effects are after all these years. They truly still stand the test of time. While I understand that this film is not for everyone, I stand by my belief that this will be a sci-fi flick that will continue to be remembered 20 yrs from now.
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post #13 of 69
7/2/06 at 7:18am
This film is Luc Besson's love letter to anime. Warts and all.
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post #14 of 69
7/2/06 at 7:37am
Yeah, there are some little things besides Tucker's performance that annoy me a bit, especially how they decided to edit some of the scenes, but I still enjoy this movie a lot. I like the characters, silliness, the visual look, action and the fact that there's a huge sci-fi film that looks like it was made by europeans.
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post #15 of 69
7/2/06 at 9:02am
If it weren't for Tucker and the blue singing chick, I would love this flick. As is, I kinda sorta like it.
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post #16 of 69
7/2/06 at 9:34am
It's a better Heavy Metal movie than the actual Heavy Metal movie.

I remember seeing this and thinking that ILM really needed to bring it with Episode I -- the effects and design work are outstanding. And yeah, Tucker is annoying, but the character was meant to be, so I didn't have a problem with it.
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post #17 of 69
7/2/06 at 9:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Papa Quagmire
Yeah, there are some little things besides Tucker's performance that annoy me a bit, especially how they decided to edit some of the scenes, but I still enjoy this movie a lot. I like the characters, silliness, the visual look, action and the fact that there's a huge sci-fi film that looks like it was made by europeans.
What's so bad about that?
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post #18 of 69
7/2/06 at 9:50am
He said that's one of the things he liked about it.
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post #19 of 69
7/2/06 at 9:56am
My bad. I should learn to actually read posts.

It was one of the complaints I got from my friends when I showed it to them though.
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post #20 of 69
7/2/06 at 9:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nigel St. Buggering
Thank god there's somebody else out there who feels this way. I can't stand this movie. What makes it worse is that the introduction shows a lot of promise before spending the next two hours squandering it. I have watched it again, by the way. It didn't help.
I agree, well, not really on the introduction showing promise, but more the movie sucking. It's terrible, and like EP1, is a great way of showing that good art direction doesn't make a good movie.
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post #21 of 69
7/2/06 at 10:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Dickson
It's a better Heavy Metal movie than the actual Heavy Metal movie.
Ummm...No. It's not. The original Heavy Metal (Let's ignore the Julie Strain Sequel) even directly used Heavy Metal artist Richard Corbin's "Den" series as a segment.

The Fifth Element only compares because it had a flying taxi driver, ala the first Heavy Metal story. It falls into mediocre drivel there after.
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post #22 of 69
7/2/06 at 10:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pop Zeus
This film is Luc Besson's love letter to anime. Warts and all.
Pretty much how I see it. Beautiful art direction, quirky humor, fundamentally empty story, but manages to be entertaining to me nonetheless.

Chris Tucker still needs to die screaming, though.
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post #23 of 69
7/2/06 at 11:12am
I watch this once a year when they play it on TV and each and everytime i sit down to watch it i completely forget Luke Perry is in it.
The utter, mind crushing shitfulness of Tucker is balanced out by the Milla hotness so it all works out.
Love the weird Fellatio-oid that Zorg keeps stashed away under his desk.
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post #24 of 69
7/2/06 at 11:38am
KORBINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN DALAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSS!

I'm a fan.
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post #25 of 69
7/2/06 at 12:58pm
I was with this flick until Tucker showed up and Willis engaged in battle with the cast of "Fraggle Rock."
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post #26 of 69
7/2/06 at 3:12pm
Everything was so over the top that the EXTREME annoyance of Chris Tucker felt right in place.
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post #27 of 69
7/2/06 at 4:14pm
1997 isn't long enough ago to warrant a nostalgic look back 'all those years'. Except in the sad case of Brion James.
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post #28 of 69
7/2/06 at 5:39pm
i'll always remember it too. i'll remember how angry i got watching it. and by the time christ tucker was ranting like a fuck through the halls with that annoying voice of his at bruce willis, i turned to my wife and said out loud... "What the fuck is this?"

it's a mess of a movie that fails on every level. excpet for the one moment where bruce willis jumps off a balcony firing guns. gotta love that. piss on this movie.
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post #29 of 69
7/2/06 at 5:39pm
i'll always remember it too. i'll remember how angry i got watching it. and by the time christ tucker was ranting like a fuck through the halls with that annoying voice of his at bruce willis, i turned to my wife and said out loud... "What the fuck is this?"

it's a mess of a movie that fails on every level. excpet for the one moment where bruce willis jumps off a balcony firing guns. gotta love that. piss on this movie.
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post #30 of 69
7/2/06 at 6:01pm
I think the heart of my problem with this movie lies in something Besson kept saying in all the interviews. The story was that he originally came up with the story when he was sixteen years old. That kind of says it all. It's exactly the kind of story a sixteen year old would come up with after binging on issues of Heavy Metal. If a middle-aged man were going to make a movie of a story he came up with as a teenager, you'd think he'd try to bring the benefit of experience to it. But no, there it is in all its sixteen-year-old idiocy: a comedically violent story that ends with an anti-war message. Nice thinking, Luc.
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post #31 of 69
7/2/06 at 6:01pm
I think the heart of my problem with this movie lies in something Besson kept saying in all the interviews. The story was that he originally came up with the story when he was sixteen years old. That kind of says it all. It's exactly the kind of story a sixteen year old would come up with after binging on issues of Heavy Metal. If a middle-aged man were going to make a movie of a story he came up with as a teenager, you'd think he'd try to bring the benefit of experience to it. But no, there it is in all its sixteen-year-old idiocy: a comedically violent story that ends with an anti-war message. Nice thinking, Luc.
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post #32 of 69
7/2/06 at 6:15pm
I don't love Fifth Element, but I did enjoy it. One of my favorite Willis lines: "I only speak two languages, English and bad English."

Perhaps it is silly and juvenile, but those are not necessarily fatal traits in a sci-fi movie. Independence Day is every bit as silly, and yet look at all the praise it's getting in the other thread, even by the same people who are dumping on Fifth Element here.
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post #33 of 69
7/2/06 at 6:15pm
I don't love Fifth Element, but I did enjoy it. One of my favorite Willis lines: "I only speak two languages, English and bad English."

Perhaps it is silly and juvenile, but those are not necessarily fatal traits in a sci-fi movie. Independence Day is every bit as silly, and yet look at all the praise it's getting in the other thread, even by the same people who are dumping on Fifth Element here.
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post #34 of 69
7/2/06 at 6:20pm
Thread Starter 
My particular favourite scenes were Leelo's fight sequence and Gary Oldmond's gun sale pitch. Strangely enough, I didn't mind even mind Chris Tucker. (That makes me a freak of sorts, I guess.)
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post #35 of 69
7/2/06 at 6:20pm
Thread Starter 
My particular favourite scenes were Leelo's fight sequence and Gary Oldmond's gun sale pitch. Strangely enough, I didn't mind even mind Chris Tucker. (That makes me a freak of sorts, I guess.)
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post #36 of 69
7/2/06 at 6:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Desslar
Perhaps it is silly and juvenile, but those are not necessarily fatal traits in a sci-fi movie. Independence Day is every bit as silly, and yet look at all the praise it's getting in the other thread, even by the same people who are dumping on Fifth Element here.
I hate both of them, so that's not much of a defense from where I'm standing.
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post #37 of 69
7/2/06 at 6:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Desslar
Perhaps it is silly and juvenile, but those are not necessarily fatal traits in a sci-fi movie. Independence Day is every bit as silly, and yet look at all the praise it's getting in the other thread, even by the same people who are dumping on Fifth Element here.
I hate both of them, so that's not much of a defense from where I'm standing.
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post #38 of 69
7/2/06 at 6:37pm
I love this film, it's great combination of wildly imaginative science fiction, and a guns blazing action movie. The cast is spot on, and the story actually has this philosophical tone to it. The score deserves a lot of praise too, I listen to the CD quite often.
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post #39 of 69
7/2/06 at 6:37pm
I love this film, it's great combination of wildly imaginative science fiction, and a guns blazing action movie. The cast is spot on, and the story actually has this philosophical tone to it. The score deserves a lot of praise too, I listen to the CD quite often.
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post #40 of 69
7/2/06 at 6:38pm
I like how visually inventive The Fifth Element is, but I find it to be kinda boring. Can't say I care about any of the characters, nor do I think the quest is particularly exciting. And Gary Oldman doesn't make for a threatening villain as he's stuck in a tiny office for most of the film. Its an odd choice on Besson's part since the rest of the movie is so visual.
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post #41 of 69
7/2/06 at 6:38pm
I like how visually inventive The Fifth Element is, but I find it to be kinda boring. Can't say I care about any of the characters, nor do I think the quest is particularly exciting. And Gary Oldman doesn't make for a threatening villain as he's stuck in a tiny office for most of the film. Its an odd choice on Besson's part since the rest of the movie is so visual.
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post #42 of 69
7/2/06 at 6:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Desslar
Perhaps it is silly and juvenile, but those are not necessarily fatal traits in a sci-fi movie. Independence Day is every bit as silly, and yet look at all the praise it's getting in the other thread, even by the same people who are dumping on Fifth Element here.
Both are fairly silly movies but that doesn't mean you have to like or dislike both. There are just far more annoying aspects to THE FIFTH ELEMENT than there are in ID4. I also probably had higher expectations for ELEMENT since I'm a big Willis fan and Besson's prior film was THE PROFESSIONAL.
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post #43 of 69
7/2/06 at 6:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Desslar
Perhaps it is silly and juvenile, but those are not necessarily fatal traits in a sci-fi movie. Independence Day is every bit as silly, and yet look at all the praise it's getting in the other thread, even by the same people who are dumping on Fifth Element here.
Both are fairly silly movies but that doesn't mean you have to like or dislike both. There are just far more annoying aspects to THE FIFTH ELEMENT than there are in ID4. I also probably had higher expectations for ELEMENT since I'm a big Willis fan and Besson's prior film was THE PROFESSIONAL.
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post #44 of 69
7/2/06 at 6:47pm
Through just about everything he's written, Besson's weakness is story. The reason Leon/The Professional works so well is that it's a character study, and there's so little story for him to screw up. Every time he tries to inject a lot of plot, he drops the ball.
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post #45 of 69
7/2/06 at 6:47pm
Through just about everything he's written, Besson's weakness is story. The reason Leon/The Professional works so well is that it's a character study, and there's so little story for him to screw up. Every time he tries to inject a lot of plot, he drops the ball.
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post #46 of 69
7/2/06 at 6:57pm
That seems fair, I never saw THE MESSENGER but I'd imagine that was the problem there as well. He's pretty good when it comes to characters and staging set pieces and if those had been done as well in THE FIFTH ELEMENT as they were in THE PROFESSIONAL I would have enjoyed it much more.
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post #47 of 69
7/2/06 at 6:57pm
That seems fair, I never saw THE MESSENGER but I'd imagine that was the problem there as well. He's pretty good when it comes to characters and staging set pieces and if those had been done as well in THE FIFTH ELEMENT as they were in THE PROFESSIONAL I would have enjoyed it much more.
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post #48 of 69
7/2/06 at 7:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moltisanti
That seems fair, I never saw THE MESSENGER but I'd imagine that was the problem there as well. He's pretty good when it comes to characters and staging set pieces and if those had been done as well in THE FIFTH ELEMENT as they were in THE PROFESSIONAL I would have enjoyed it much more.
My main problem with The Messenger was the heavy religious content. Which I suppose is part of the original story, but I found it tiresome that Joan was always presumptuously justifying her actions by declaring it was God's will or something.

The action scenes are excellent though.
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post #49 of 69
7/2/06 at 7:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moltisanti
That seems fair, I never saw THE MESSENGER but I'd imagine that was the problem there as well. He's pretty good when it comes to characters and staging set pieces and if those had been done as well in THE FIFTH ELEMENT as they were in THE PROFESSIONAL I would have enjoyed it much more.
My main problem with The Messenger was the heavy religious content. Which I suppose is part of the original story, but I found it tiresome that Joan was always presumptuously justifying her actions by declaring it was God's will or something.

The action scenes are excellent though.
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post #50 of 69
7/2/06 at 9:20pm
Most of The Messenger plays up the religious factor to an obscene amount, but it's all for the benefit of that last half hour, which takes its careful time tearing her religious convictions a new one. The film's got the same flaws as Besson's non-Leon work, but it is definitely a charcter piece, which is definitely Besson's strong suit, and it gets a load of brownie points in my book for being the one portrayal of Joan of Arc unafraid to explore the very real possibility that Joan may have been 100% batfuck insane.
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