So near and yet so far

Rating: 4/10 (21 November 2009)

Die Hard meets Star Wars sounds like a promising idea, and so it is.
There is nothing much wrong with The Fifth Element except for the bits which are, and there are only two of those of any consequence.
One is the gaping holes in exposition which leave you not knowing who, what or why about the impending destruction of the earth. There's some vague wiffling about Evil Ones, but this hardly papers over the gaps.
The second, and far more serious negative, is Chris Rock's Ruby Rhod character. The Fifth Element is a sci-fi romp, but Ruby Rhod, also referred to as The Single Most Annoying Character In The Entire History Of Motion Pictures Ever, seems to have been imported from some entirely different movie. It is impossible to describe quite how annoying this character is to anyone who hasn't seen the film: the only way to understand is to experience it, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Suffice it to say that the experience of hearing fingernails scraped down a blackboard is euphonious beyond imagining by comparison with Chris Rock's vocal characterisation, and the character's visual aspect is on all fours with the aural. Ruby Rhod is responsible, single-handedly, for halving the vote I award.