A pretentious piece of trash.

Rating: 1/10 (23 November 1998)

How could a genuine film fan enjoy this movie? Reportedly, Luc Besson began writing it when he was only sixteen. He must have finished it before he turned seventeen, because "The Fifth Element" is one of the most immature and annoying movies I can remember. What story there is becomes mind-numbingly dull by the end, but before that point, Besson heaps so much half-witted, pseudo-intellectual garbage on the audience that it made me want to scream. I've heard some people excuse the lack of any logic or reason in the plot by saying, "Well, it's a sci-fi film, you know?!" My response is that the best science-fiction novels and films have their basis in physics, biology, etc... and are usually meticulously structured and well thought out. Besson seems to have based "The Fifth Element" in his typical sophomoric tendency of making style tantamount to substance. However, I will say that the acting of Milla Jovovich was quite strong and Bruce Willis wasn't bad either. One last knock against the film: it unleashed the unbearable Chris Tucker on the world!!!