Opera for the Punks

Rating: 10/10 (8 November 2010)

The Fifth Element (1997, Directed by Luc Besson), set in the 23rd century, is a Cyber-Punk film bursting with hilarity, technology, electrifying music and flying cars. It ridiculously screams sci-fi, so much that it can be mistaken for a spoof, of which it certainly is not. Besson, ever the eye for detail, creates the future in a fantastically zingy way that draws the audience in to its colourful world of fast paced mingleaninga.
Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) is former special agent, now taxi driver turned special agent again in order to save the world from an ever growing evil in the form of a giant burning evil 'scare the pants of The President' ball of fire. In order to save the world from this said evil he needs five elements, 4 of which are unknown to everybody except the fifth element who he predictably meets after she falls into his taxi after being chased by cops.
Leeloo Minai Lekarariba Laminai Tchai Ekbat De Sebat, otherwise known as Leeloo, is the Fifth Element that predictably falls into Korben Dallas' taxi cab. She is not human, not robot, not anything really, although she is very much a human. She was built from strands of DNA to create what scientists called 'The Perfect Being', and she is really. She was built to 'Protect'. She is a likable character; her flaming orange hair accentuates her unique personality. She is the brainiest character, knows everything, and learns everything by just looking at pictures and text for just one split second, possibly due to the fact that she was made with a photographic memory.
Ruby Rhod (Chris Tucker) is a squeaky voiced, over-dramatic confusing Radio DJ whose hair is really eccentric and unpredictable. He follows Korban around like a bad smell, and annoys the living daylights out of him. If it's not the plot of the film that keeps you entertained, it's Ruby. While he may seem annoying and you may think that you will hate him, I can assure you that you won't. There's just something about him that makes you want to see this film over and over again. In all the scenes he's in, he speaks in his own way, and will not shut up. Most of the time you can hear nothing but him blabbering on. He is a great character for a film like this.
The film is largely dependant on its fast paced music to keep the audience enthralled, the punky pop music is extremely enjoyable and helps keep the film bouncing on its toes. In one electrifyingly gripping scene, an opera singer, known as the Diva, is singing classical opera, and then suddenly BOOM! She starts singing opera but with a punkish popish side to it, zingy waves of fast paced electric pop music flying into your awaiting ears and through your brain, instantly changing the mood of the scene. Whilst the Diva is singing, the scene cuts back and forth on time with the beat of the music between the Diva and a fight between Leeloo the Fifth Element and aliens bent on stealing the other 4 elements, the music greatly affecting the feelings happening in the fight.
This film entertained me all the way through, and has burnt itself with great detail and a lot of smoke into my memory; I could never forget the colourful electric eccentric hilarious fast paced world of this film. If you ever get the chance to see this film, you should definitely watch it, you will be thoroughly amazed.