Luc Besson is the modern Kubrik

Rating: 10/10 (1 June 1999)

Each of Luc Besson's previous two movies has been impressive, and each has stretched his visible skills at storytelling. This third of Luc Besson's movies is truly a French comic book broken free of its panels -- not to be taken even remotely, momentarily seriously, it is a wonderful mixture of a comic book's childish simplicity and a movie's visual animation. Although quite violent, it is filled with sharp, witty dialogue and quick characterization, with many visual jokes and puns subtly slipped in for additional humor (the cigarette, for example, that's 75% filter). Bruce Willis's casting as the beaten down Corbin Dallas is obvious, but perfect. Gary Oldman deliciously overplays the wickedly evil Zorg, Milla Jovovitch wonderfully bounces from vulnerable to superwarrior, and the rest of the casting is equally inspired, straight down to "Tiny" Lister as The President. The "Mobius" inspired cityscapes and visual elements fit perfectly into the comic-book nature of the movie.
No question, it *does* suffer on the small screen -- try to catch it in wide screen on a large Home Theatre system if you cannot see it at a real theatre. This movie needs to be "big" to be truly appreciated.
The world has lost its Kubrick, but it's found an obvious successor.