Tries To Show Off Too Much

Rating: 6/10 (22 May 2005)

I'd always had the impression that THE FIFTH ELEMENT had been set in the far flung future which caused by the oft shown clip of the heroine crashing through the taxi roof ( Very similar to the scene in PULP FICTION also starring Bruce Willis ) so imagine my surprise when this movie starts of in the deserts of North Africa in 1914 . It's an opening scene that has featured in many movies and TV shows and while it's not very original it is a beautiful location , but not as beautiful as what happens next when the aliens land and make their first appearance in a very memorable scene that had me thinking I'd be watching a great movie
Oh dear . The problem with having a superb opening is that it's difficult to keep up the consistency and I think this is where the rest of the movie fails . Before too long we jump 300 years into the future where the Earth is in danger from pig faced aliens . I am not xenophobic and have no prejudice about mankind being threatened by pig faced aliens any more that mankind being threatened by mutants in a metallic shell screeching " EX-TER-MIN-NATE " or aliens disguised as showroom dummies . No my problem is that director Luc Besson seems to frequently forget all about pig faced aliens and impresses us with set design and special effects thereby sacrificing narrative drive . We see a machine that reminds characters to stop smoking , we see a pod that turns itself into a machine gun/cross bow / flame thrower / rocket launcher , in fact there's hardly a scene in the whole movie in which the plot isn't held up without the urge to show us what a great job the guys and gals at the prop and FX departments have done . Oh bravo - but this is superfluous to the plot and nobody likes to see a show off
One curious aspect Besson has done is to bring one of the most uneven casts ever assembled for a movie . No doubt Besson will claim it's an eclectic mix but I have to stick to my guns and say it's uneven . Ian Holm is totally convincing as is the late John Bennet who played Holm's predecessor at the start of the movie and as you might expect most of the best performances come from British equity members . Bruce Willis is Bruce Willis but was no doubt cast in order to make the movie appeal to an American audience . Tricky is a strange casting choice but holds his own while Oldman's accent is very irritating , I don't mean unconvincing I mean irritating . Without doubt the worst performance belongs to Chris Tucker who nearly brings the fim down
Like the cast THE FIFTH ELEMENT is very uneven . It has a great opening 15 minutes then becomes just another flashy overblown futuristic fantasy and long before the final credits rolled I wished that the producers had developed the opening into a 100 minute feature film set in North Africa circa 1914