How to turn a Sci-fi epic into a work of art

Rating: 10/10 (5 February 2012)

After seeing this movie for the second time on video I have concluded that Luc Besson is a brilliant filmmaker. In regards to story and effects this movie has nothing new. The story is basically about saving the world and the effects are standard for a science fiction movie these days. Other than a comment on war, which ends with okay we fight but we also love, this movie does not raise any issues. In fact that comment is really stupid because its like saying, "okay, I did kill somebody but that's okay because I helped an old lady cross the road." Stupid I reckon. What made this movie unique were numerous little oddities that set it apart from the standard Hollywood movie.
The Fifth Element is a Hollywood movie, the line about war is a clear indication of the Americanism of it. The movie also uses American actors, such as Bruce Willis and Gary Oldman, but all of the production crew are French, especially Luc Besson, the director and writer of the movie. As such there seems to be lots of oddities that come across, though I would not label that as being strictly French considering Les Visiteurs is a purely French film, yet it appears to be something from Hollywood (not that it is a bad movie), thus I put down all of the oddities in the Fifth Element to Luc Besson's style, which is something I enjoy tremendously.
The characters are very non-standard. Corbin Dallas (Bruce Willis) is probably the only stereotypical character in the movie, though he has his own little quirks as well. It is the minor characters that really stick in my mind. Luke Perry plays a young assistant to an Egyptologist who counts the number of times the Egyptologist cries out "Aziz Light!". Characters' reactions to the famous personalities are very memorable. The timidness really stands out. It is not a slight stammering but a really noticeable unease. The radio announcer is really weird, being a lover caught in the middle of a violent gun battle and commentating on it, and Zorg (Gary Oldman) the "bad guy" (though he is not really because the Shadow is the bad guy, Zorg is just one of his agents), is an incredibly memorable bad guy just by his unique characteristics. It is also noticeable that the hero, Corbin Dallas, and Zorg never actually meet.
The movie is also very colourful, and much imagination has gone into the uniforms. The future has a very urban feel to it, yet the colour makes it really interesting. The colours are very stark, making it seem more like a comic book movie. The Fifth Element is a very good movie, well worth seeing just for the uniqueness of it.