Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Luc Besson, the man who brought you films like Leon, The Fifth Element, and Lucy, has done it again and this time he introduces moviegoers a brand new sci-fi fantasy adventure that will take us beyond the limitless possibilities of outer space and our imagination.

Valerian

This sci-fi fantasy film is called Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets and it's based on a popular comic book series which inspired numerous creative minds. Dane DeHaan plays the titular role of Valerian and Cara Delevingne plays as his partner Laureline. Set in the 28th century, Valerian and Laureline embarked on a mission to an ever-expanding city called Alpha, where a benevolent force threatens the peaceful existence of the City of a Thousand Planets and together, they are on a race against time to stop this threat and save the universe.

Visuals has been part of every sci-fi fantasy movie ever made and the true beauty of Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is the colorful and vivid visuals that adds life and depth of field into the cinematic masterpiece. Think Avatar, Interstellar, Star Wars, Star Trek, Blade Runner, and any other science fiction movie you know and familiar with because this film feels like mashing up the best science fiction films ever made out of curiosity from many sci-fi geeks and the result is a vast-changing film that releases a prismatic spectrum that will satisfy every moviegoer witnessed.

Despite the colorful visuals that sets Valerian apart, the storyline should have known better and while we are impressed with how it looks, how the film unfolds is a bit of a decency and it can knock some of the moviegoers into boredom until the exciting parts kicked in. And there's another problem with this film and there's a case of product placement.

Remember Minority Report a decade and a half ago? Toyota's luxury division Lexus made a car specifically for this future-set film and in Valerian, Lexus had another go in the sci-fi fantasy landscape with their so-called SkyJet and even though it only exists in the film, this is how Lexus represents its enhanced L-Finesse design in so many ways. It maybe just one of the key aspects on showcasing what Lexus can do when they design almost everything the way they did to their cars in the real world but as a product placement, it kinda rather spoils it like posers loitering around shopping malls all day and all night.

Even though the storyline is what you call a decency, the sheer magnitude of the visuals is what made Valerian one of the best films to watch in the summer blockbuster season and if you're looking for some out-of-this-world adventure that will excite your imagination, look no further.

My rating: 3.7 out of 5.