The Trailer for Luc Besson’s Valerian Is a Sci-Fi Smorgasbord
Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element is one of my greatest guilty pleasures (if I believed in guilty pleasures, that is). If I’m ever channel-surfing and The Fifth Element is on, I have to stop and watch it for awhile. It’s a thoroughly entertaining roller coaster ride with over-the-top performances, wild action sequences, and some of the best and most unique world-building of any sci-fi movie out there.
But after watching the above teaser, The Fifth Element now seems like it was a mere warm-up act for Besson’s upcoming Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. Massive futuristic cities, aliens that actually look like aliens (as opposed to humans with bad acne), crazy technologies, epic space battles… nearly every moment of the trailer is bursting at the seams with something imaginative and eye-catching. If done right, and I have no reason to believe otherwise, this will be a blast to watch. It’s been too long since there’s been a good, fun, rollicking space opera in theatres.
Here’s the official synopses:
Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are special operatives for the government of the human territories charged with maintaining order throughout the universe. 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.
The film, which Besson has wanted to make for decades, is an adaption of the famous French comic Valérian and Laureline. Created by Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières in the ’60s, the comic follows the adventures of the titular agents who travel through space and time righting wrongs. The series has been considered very influential, even influencing aspects of the Star Wars movies. Back in 2007, it was adapted into a French/Japanese animated series titled Time Jam: Valerian & Laureline.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets will be released here in the States on July 21, 2017.