Ravishing sets, gorgeous costumes, beautiful cinematography.

Rating: Null/10 (20 October 2000)

One of my favorite movies of all time. Ravishing sets, gorgeous costumes (Jean Paul Gaultier), beautiful cinematography (Thierry Arbogast), grandiose soundtrack (Eric Serra), and an excellent story. Acting was, umm... more than sufficient.
The story has been outlined elsewhere, but a synopsis of it would be "world is gonna' end, gotta' save it, fantastic odds to be overcome...and fall in love".
The visuals, story, and pacing in this movie are timeless, just like 1979's "Alien", and 1982's "Blade Runner" (both Ridley Scott) -in that the level of quality in the cinematography and editing allows them to be comparable to the best of movies produced today. It's not just about digital FX, it's about art.
There isn't a moment where you feel the urge to fast forward past the "boring parts" as the pacing is quite solid. Each shot is beautifully composed and filmed, as there are no "junk" or "filler" shots to be found in this film.
The score is excellent, Eric Serra is a master of orchestration, on par with Elfman, albeit completely different styles.
The story is quite fantastic -maybe even preposterous, I'll give you that, but it is a sci-fi romantic comedy. I don't think it aspires to be more than what it is, with the simple premise of good versus ultimate evil, that can only be defeated by the strength of love.
Although, if you are used to American films and could care less about beauty in films, then don't bother watching this. If you have any care for film at all, see this in one of its wide-screen versions -you are literally missing half the film if you watch pan-and-scan (most movies).
If you liked this movie at all and haven't yet seen "La Femme Nikita" or "Leon" (the butchered version of this is known as "The Professional" here in the US), then rent them both (wide-screen, please).