Close but no cigar

Rating: Null/10 (10 August 1999)

A tremendous movie that could have risen to the heights of vision of Blade Runner, The Fifth Element is held back by Bruce Willis' inability to allow himself to feel any emotion other than cynicism and triumph. Great effects and spot-on casting bring the future into a cogent and new view as cabby Korben Dallas (Willis) is thrust into holding Earth's future in his back seat when the curvaceous and naive galactic wanderer LeeLoo (Milla Janovich) falls through the roof of his cab. Dodging cops, fighting bad guy Zorg (Gary Oldman, delighting in chewing every piece of scenery in sight) and racing time itself to beat an ancient dictum that mandates mankind's end, Bruce/Korben must deliver LeeLoo, some ancient stone tablets retrieved from a intergalactic opera star's innards, and the unknown Fifth Element to a ritualistic location so mankind's contract with the universe can be renewed.

WARNING, MINOR SPOILER AHEAD.
Earth, Wind, Fire and Water comprise the first Four Elements, but the Fifth escapes everyone's recognition until long after the movie is over - oh yeah, LOVE, Bruce was supposed to be falling in LOVE with Milla Janovich's LeeLoo. Sorry, missed that. Too busy watching Bruce dispatch the bad guys and win against all odds (he could do this, but he should give some clue that the outcome is in doubt, like in Die Hard).
Chris Tucker rocks as cyber host Ruby Rhod, and Ian Holm brings true acting chops to the supporting role of Cornelius, the priest who knows the ins and outs of this whole mankind-is-going-to-end deal. Gary Oldman scales new heights of camp as the metal-skulled Zorg, and Milla Janovich looks great in orange hair and strips of cloth. (She is actually surprisingly moving in a part voiced mostly in gibberish.) Great supporting work by Brion James of the aforementioned Blade Runner, and Tiny Tim Lister is awesome as President Lindberg. Unfortunately, the entire effort is tripped up by star power, and I don't mean the kind that twinkle in the sky. The really sad thing is that Bruce Willis probably CAN act this part; I guess he just doesn't want to anymore.