The Fifth Element (1997)
October 21st, 2003 at 8:49 pm (4 - Good)
I received a copy of The Fifth Element (1997) as a free DVD with the purchase of my DVD player. I had seen it once in a theater before and remembered enjoying the movie but was not sure whether I would want to keep a DVD copy at home. After watching it a second, then a third and a fourth time, I found the movie is so visually rich and amusing that it has become a favorite to pull out on a slow Sunday and enjoy year after year.
There is nothing spectacular or ground breaking about The Fifth Element, but the even-keeled and predictable approach to the sci-fi action comedy keeps the audience amused from beginning to end. The bad guys are bad, the good guys good, the chase scenes just as you would expect them to be and the one liners just witty enough. Something the movie does have that most Hollywood flicks lack is a European sense of humor and style granted, I assume, by writer/director Luc Besson.
Besson has been making movies since L’Avant dernier (1981) which he wrote, directed and produced, but it was not until his 1990 hit La Femme Nikita that he gained notoriety in the United States. After Nikita, it’s best forgotten remake Point of No Return (1993) and the “don’t call it a sequel” sequel Léon (1994) Besson got to make The Fifth Element based on a script he originally wrote in High School. You can feel Besson’s sense of fun throughout the movie, it feels like a work of love that is easy to love and to enjoy.
The casting is superb with Milla Jovovich (whom Besson married the same year the film was released) emoting both strength and frailty, Bruce Willis showing great aptitude in the familiar action-comedy role and Gary Oldman proving yet again what a superb grasp he has of how to make a bad guy creepy. Kudos also go to cinematographer Thierry Arbogast, production designer Dan Weil and my favorite film composer Eric Serra for giving us a world rich with beautiful detail (if you have the DVD, freeze the scene where the shuttle is taking off for an impressive effects shot of New York harbor after the oceans have receeded).
It may not be destined to be remembered as one of the sci-fi greats, but The Fifth Element is one hell of a fun ride and worth watching. I even think it is worth owning so you can enjoy the detail again, and again, and again…
Nick said,
October 22, 2003 at 6:31 pm
One of the things I love is how Bruce Willis is always willing to take chances, but still does the thing that makes him the big bucks. If you look at his career he’s got some great parts in Unbreakable, Sixth Sense, Fifth Element, 12 Monkeys, and Pulp Fiction. And that doesn’t include things like Die Hard, possibly my favorite action flick of all time. He’s got some real dogs in there, too, like Color of Night, but on the whole he’ll be remembered for a pretty good body of work, I think, and a willingness to be more than just an action hero.
My favorite Besson film, though I haven’t seen enough of them, is what you refer to as Leon, but I think is rightly remembered as The Professional, since it was an American movie. Interesting dynamic between he and the girl, good ending, good development leading up to interesting action sequences.
Naomi said,
January 10, 2004 at 4:22 am
i absolutly loved the fifth element. the only problem is i watched it about 5 or 6 yrs ago and now i can’t find it anywhere. me and me sis really wanna watch it again coz we thort it waz brill!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bruce Willis is quite possibly one of me fav actors becasue he is so good at wot he does but also because he plays such a variety of characters.
Corason said,
September 5, 2004 at 10:16 pm
I agree that this is a good movie. I own a copy i got for my Birthday and I watch it alot. This is also one of my favorite Chris Tucker (Rudy Rod) movies.
Mr. Anderson said,
January 31, 2005 at 5:55 pm
I love this movie and intent on bying the new special edition dvd. You know i think they are selling this to raise money for a sequel. At least thats what star wars did with there speacial editions they made in 1997. I would like to get more info on it though. If anyone reads this and knows something about it, please tell me. Hang on! This sites called geek roar? well howed i end up here? I just learned something about myself i think. Well, peace out, im going to eat a bucket of ice cream the cry myself to sleep. FIFTH ELEMENT RULES!
Bee said,
April 1, 2005 at 10:22 am
I unfortunately first saw this movie when it came out on HBO. I wish that I had gone and seen it in the theaters…the special effects, music, characters, and story all culminates into an incredibly enjoyable and entertaining movie. There is a mystical aura that surrounds this movie and is only noticable to a person with an opened mind. I was dissapointed that there wasn’t going to be a sequal. This movie has to be in my personal top 5, one day people will be able to understand what makes a ground breaking/wonderful movie. 5th element rules!!!
Fan boy said,
July 10, 2006 at 7:20 am
I think Milla Jovovich was the only good thing about the movie
poop said,
September 19, 2006 at 7:02 am
this film was poop i ate poop that tasted better then this film
james hesketh said,
September 29, 2006 at 12:51 pm
i think the 5th element is a great film when i first saw it i wanted to buy it but i couldnt get a copy of it any where. i think it’s one of the best films that bruces played in and Milla Jovovich.
Vernon said,
October 23, 2006 at 9:17 pm
BEST movie in the world
Tj Man said,
December 14, 2006 at 3:13 am
Milla Jovovich was so cute in it!
… that sounded so creepy, didn’t it?
I borrowed the Fifth Element from a friend and still haven’t given it back to him (haha, ten years ago…)
Good film, great acting and excellent feel.