"Where did he learn to negotiate like that?"

Rating: 8/10 (5 December 2018)

In the distant future, a dark force is approaching the Earth in order to destroy all life. The four stones which represent the four elements in combination with the perfect human being as the fifth element are the only defense of mankind against destruction. (I wonder how women look like in 300 years distant future if Milla Jovovich represents perfection...) The army, an order of priests, an alien race of warriors and some criminals, all trying to be the first to get hold of the five elements.
The story combines SF, action, drama, romance, and comedy, in a way that is at times totally ridiculous, but this film should not be taken seriously, because its sole goal is to entertain and it does it more than well. Technically it is top-notch and at that time it was the most expensive film made outside Hollywood. The cast, besides Milla Jovovich, includes many well-known faces, such as Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Luke Perry, and Brion James, and although their performances are not Oscar material, the characters are diverse, original and very entertaining, and for this type of film, they are just right. The directing is great, there are some excellent cadres, and the special effects are amazing for that time. There are also aria unachievable for the human voice, performed by a singer whose name is in the Serbian language, the biggest explosion ever recorded indoors, the language invented especially for this film, creations by Jean-Paul Gautier and a multitude of ingenious details. Interestingly, Luc Besson began to write this script in the age of sixteen, but managed to finally film it twenty-two years later.
8,5/10