I'd heard that critics were trashing this movie and was leery about seeing it, I loved Milla Jovovich in The Fifth Element, also by this director. But I found so much to like here, it feels as if the critics went out of their way to trash a valiant effort. True, this is not as good as The Fifth Element, but there are glimmers here of a completely enchanting world that I wouldn't have missed seeing.
When you compare this wildly imaginative movie to one like Rogue One, the Star Wars prequel comes off awfully juvenile. I don't recall the critics getting upset about that. The attention to detail and the beauty of some of the imagined locations here is spectacular. It must have cost a fortune to produce the first 5 minutes of this movie, judging by the product.
My biggest surprise was the two leads. Watching the trailer I thought Dane DeHaan a little too light weight body-wise to carry off the role of an action hero. And Cara Delevingne seemed a little too runway to be that action hero's sidekick or love interest. To my surprise, Dane seemed just right for the part. It was easy to appreciate his attitude and range of expression and he moved very well throughout. And Cara seemed nobody's fool and pulled off her part very satisfactorily, also being just as physical and ironic as she needed to be.
There's a bit of a lull in the festivities around the third act but I didn't mind; this is an extremely ambitious project that deserves a lot more praise than it's getting. Could it be Hollywood is seeing cross-eyed because it's too envious of this work? The movie goes by quickly and I can only hope Luc Besson the director is not discouraged from doing a sequel. To my mind he clearly deserves to be listed with the world's top directors.
When you compare this wildly imaginative movie to one like Rogue One, the Star Wars prequel comes off awfully juvenile. I don't recall the critics getting upset about that. The attention to detail and the beauty of some of the imagined locations here is spectacular. It must have cost a fortune to produce the first 5 minutes of this movie, judging by the product.
My biggest surprise was the two leads. Watching the trailer I thought Dane DeHaan a little too light weight body-wise to carry off the role of an action hero. And Cara Delevingne seemed a little too runway to be that action hero's sidekick or love interest. To my surprise, Dane seemed just right for the part. It was easy to appreciate his attitude and range of expression and he moved very well throughout. And Cara seemed nobody's fool and pulled off her part very satisfactorily, also being just as physical and ironic as she needed to be.
There's a bit of a lull in the festivities around the third act but I didn't mind; this is an extremely ambitious project that deserves a lot more praise than it's getting. Could it be Hollywood is seeing cross-eyed because it's too envious of this work? The movie goes by quickly and I can only hope Luc Besson the director is not discouraged from doing a sequel. To my mind he clearly deserves to be listed with the world's top directors.