Don't write it off

Rating: Null/10 (27 January 2002)

After looking for the name of an obscure character in The Fifth Element, I came across a lot of negative user comment about this film and opted to add my own "two cents". First of all, many comparisons have been made to Besson's earlier work (esp. La Femme Nikita and Leon [aka "The Professional]) which is unfair. Previous Besson movies have been concerned primarily with the analysis of one or two character's motives. The Fifth Element attempts to address the shortcomings and flaws of mankind as a whole. The fact that this is wrapped up in some fairly bog-standard sci-fi-come-love-story packaging is largely irrelevant and not necessarily to the detriment of the film as a whole.
Besson's movies are essentially about character and how their relationship with other characters affect them throughout the story. A little like John Hughes' work I guess. This is the case with The Fifth Element. The two central characters played by Willis and Jovowich are at opposite ends of the emotional spectrum. By the end of the film both characters have met somewhere in the middle: Leeloo (Jovowich) has come to learn "humanness" whilst Korben Dallas (Willis) has found beauty, purity and perfection in an otherwise drab existence. Visually, The Fifth Element is stunning, mixing Metropolis/Bladerunner-esque environments with European chic to create something that is loud, noisy but genuinely beautiful. Jean Paul Gautier's outlandish costume design, whilst bizarre at times (like Ruby Rhod's leopardskin jump-suits!) gives a very unique modern-ness not usually seen in tales of the future. As mentioned earlier, The Fifth Element is just a very simple save the universe love story but done with such style and humour that the movie is a great watch from start to finish. Milla Jovowich is gorgeous as the flame-haired Leeloo and takes a lot of the movie's greatest moments: her pouting expression and wide-eyed innocence is superbly acted. Willis is, as usual, adequate, as the action hero (his best film is still Sixth Sense) and Ian Holm as the bumbling priest lights up every scene he's in. Gary Oldman is okay as the obligatory baddie but I think completely underused after his excellent performance in Leon.
Overall, The Fifth Element is a great little film. Fun to watch, pretty to look at and every frame is a work of art (the one thing I love about Besson's film-making). Sure, not his best film to date but certainly not one which deserves the surprising amount of criticism.
4/5