A beautiful mess

Rating: 8/10 (28 June 2006)

The Fifth Element is a very creative and colorful movie with lots of in-your-face humor, flashy special effects and goofy, outrageous performances. It is a real sci-fi ride to enjoy, but perhaps not for everyone. When I first saw it, I made a point to check out all Luc Besson movies in the future because his unique style really impressed me. Unfortunately, it appears that The Fifth Element was not very representative of his directing style at all and more of a "one time thing".
I'm having trouble recalling the plot of the movie as well as the manner in which it unfolded because The Fifth Element is a beautiful mess of people, aliens and events. It's set in the future. It's something about Bruce Willis (very John McClane-like) as a jaded cab driver and Milla Jovovich as the ultimate element of good versus invading alien forces of evil threatening to destroy the earth. That is one absurd plot outline, but it works well in the film and it is miles more complex if you want it to be. The reason it is so "out there" is because Luc Besson devised it as a teenager. If that doesn't promise an awesome movie, nothing does.
Ian Holm, Gary Oldman (with a brand-new accent fit for the part, of course), Luke Perry and Chris Tucker all have parts in this film and both Holm and Oldman are excellent as ever. Many people found Tucker's over-the-top performance as an effeminate gay radio personality unbearably annoying, and I see where they are coming from. What I love about Milla Jovovich is that she doesn't seem to care what people think about her, but continues to take on ridiculous roles in even more ridiculous films (Ultraviolent, Resident Evil). In The Fifth Element, she certainly plays a colourful character but she does it very well because it calls for over-acting.
To summarize, The Fifth Element is mostly goofy and fun. But sometimesin the midst of all actionit actually manages to be very touching and beautiful. The sci-fi elements are extremely well-handled by Luc Besson and unusually imaginative for its genre. I highly recommend this film.