Valerian and The city of a thousand planets

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)

Image From IMDB

Valerian is one of those movies that’s slightly difficult to review as there’s plenty I love about it, while there’s also plenty I struggle with. On the plus side there’s the gorgeous alien worlds, incredible world building, fantastic space opera vibe, and more colour than Hollywood’s last hundred movies combined… but then there’s the central story and characters, both of which are lacking.

To start with the positives Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets really is a bright, colourful, massive space opera, crammed full of alien races, spectacular planets, enormous ships, and some wonderful lore. It kind of looks like a live action Titan A.E. There’s cute creatures and futuristic weapons, and every sequence feels like there’s some exciting new design attach to it. As a visual treat, it’s incredible.

I’d love to get around to reading some of the graphic novels at some point if they have the futuristic artistry of the movie. The stories that can be told in this world are endless, and I’m sure there’s room for plenty of interesting and vibrant characters. It’s a world I want to see more of, and learn about. A world I'd love to write my own stories within (don’t worry, I won’t) The universe instantly captivated me, unfortunately… the story and characters didn’t.

For all the great design, costume, and world building, the story itself kind of felt like nothing. The pieces were there, but never quite connected. Our two heroes Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are eventually set the task of finding out what’s causing the potential destruction of the giant space station, and have to unravel the mystery surrounding it, but it took to long to get there.

And, during that time — and I'm not sure how to put this politely so I'll just say it — they came across as pretty unlikeable. They committed heroic deeds, but just did it in a smug, arrogant manner, that made it feel like they looked down on everyone else. I think they were just trying to play it cool and aloof, but it didn’t work. They seemed like assholes and I didn’t enjoy spending time with them.

And that really is my big problem with the movie despite thinking it’s okay overall. I didn’t like the main characters, yet had to spend every single scene with them. The description of their behaviour in the books doesn’t match what I saw on screen, so I can only presume it was a choice. Maybe it worked for some people, but it didn’t work for me. I like my heroes likeable. They can be dicks, but they still have to be loveable dicks.

So Valerian is a mixed bag for me. It’s a movie I could easy watch again for the art and design. It’s a wonderful picture book. But, the characters will always grate on me. I think with a little distance between each view though I'll watch it plenty more over the years. Maybe the heroes will grow on me over time, but, I kind of doubt it. It’s okay, but I wanted more.