Update 11.10.2016 – New Trailer for Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets released:
There are only a couple of movies that managed to capture that futuristic vibe so good that when you’re watching them you feel like you’re reading a book or like you’re actually there, in the future. One of them is, of course, 1982 Blade Runner with its dystopian vision of our future and the other side of that coin is the 1997 Fifth Element, directed by Luc Besson. It had a vibrant atmosphere and a certain pizzaz that could only exist in the nineties. Twenty years after the release of that movie, Luc decided that it’s time for another big production. Again the story takes us into a bustling city of the future, where people try to live in harmony but evil forces are always there to make it hard on them.
The movie is based on a Belgian science fiction comics series “Valérian and Laureline”, written by Pierre Christin and illustrated by Jean-Claude Mézières. First published in 1967, the final installment was published in 2010. The comic served as an inspiration for many movies and authors, featuring two main heroes who time-travel and get shit done. Jean-Claude, who illustrated the comic also worked on the Fifth Element as a visual designer.
The Cast
Starring Cara Delevingne (Paper Towns, Pan) as Laureline and Dane DeHaan (Chronicle, Lawless, Kill Your Darlings) as Valerian, Luc managed to attract a lot of good actors:
- Clive Owen
- John Goodman
- Ethan Hawke
- Rihanna
- Rutger Hauer
I think you’re already seeing some similarities between this movie and The Fifth Element. Both starring female models and excellent support cast. Mila really nailed her part and I hope Cara will too because she’s the only variable here…
The Story
Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are special operatives for the government of the human territories charged with maintaining order throughout the universe. Valerian has more in mind than a professional relationship with his partner- blatantly chasing after her with propositions of romance. But his extensive history with women, and her traditional values, drive Laureline to continuously rebuff him.
Under directive from their Commander (Clive Owen), Valerian and Laureline embark on a mission to the breathtaking intergalactic city of Alpha, an ever-expanding metropolis comprised of thousands of different species from all four corners of the universe. Alpha’s seventeen million inhabitants have converged over time- uniting their talents, technology and resources for the betterment of all. Unfortunately, not everyone on Alpha shares in these same objectives; in fact, unseen forces are at work, placing our race in great danger.
This is what we officially know about the story. Set in the 28th century, the comic book portrays Valerian and Laureline a bit differently, but the rest is pretty much the same. What you need to know is that these two are space-temporal agents, in charge of maintaining order. As you probably figured, they cannot alter the events too much, or terrible things will happen. So we got ourselves, classic time-traveling detectives, doing their shit in a huge city populated with all sorts of aliens.
