"Does anybody else want to negotiate?"

Rating: 8/10 (23 July 2006)

The Fifth Element, years ago it now seems (and was), played a lot of TV and I usually watched it many times when it was on. It's not really a 'great' film, or one that should be seen by all serious genre fans like Leon- The Professional was for crime films. But it's probably one of the most watchable science fiction adventures put to the screen in the late 90s, a kind of techno-punk version of Star Wars meant more for the late teens crowd than for everyone. It's story is simple enough- trying to retrieve some missing stones that will help save the world from a meteor or other about to collide and destroy everything, and the group of people who can stop it- that its the colorful, strange supporting performances and imaginative visuals can steal the show. Milla Jovovich, more than anyone, makes her mark as a real kind of 'breakthrough' role (i.e. I never really heard of her before the movie and for a while I thought of her as the '5th element' chick in high school). Her role doesn't require too much dialog- as she barely speaks English throughout most of the film. She's got the sexy look (PG-13 with nudity for the boys), lots of power in the fight scenes, and she can even work the emotional scenes to. I would probably take her work in this film over her other Besson collaboration in Joan of Arc, as here she takes herself seriously for what she is, and it still ranks as one of her very best performances so far in her decade long career playing roles like this.
The rest of the cast, however, is a bit more hit or miss, though a little more hit than miss. Bruce Willis is his usually cynical, hard-edged self with remnants of John McClaine kicking around as an ex-officer turned cab driver who's recruited to take the '5th element' (Jovovoich) to get the stones and to the temple. Gary Oldman is very bizarre (see the 'blood' or 'sweat' or whatever trickle down his forehead during a tense phone conversation) as a villain who is a kind of pawn for the enemy, while also supplying weapon for a bunch of ugly creatures. Some of his scenes are the funniest, while being very creepy the whole while. Others like Tony Lister and Ian Holm are dependable as always in uncomplicated 2-dimensional roles. Only Chris Tucker gets pestering in his most flamboyant role to date (if that's possible) as the 'comic relief' in the form of a celeb host. I don't know if whether the character is really the problem or Tucker's interpretation, but I still feel those scenes are kind of distracting and below Tucker's comic skills.
But as a pure action spectacle, you could do worse than the 5th Element, where it's a kind of future world with weird gadgets and items, all in a more Earth-bound perspective. The main battle scene in the opera is also on par with some of the better sequences in The Professional. Sometimes the themes are hit a little too often, repetitive if you will, like with Jovovich getting over-emotional (though her little lesson on the history of the world via computer is amazing). So it's not really as fantastic as Besson might think it is, yet every time it was on I didn't change the channel much; it's got that comic-book appeal where you know what will happen- of course in repeat viewings- but you want to stay tuned for the really nifty sequences and rewarding unconventional moments and lines.