Anyone else wanna negotiate? - A True Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (19 September 2007)

First of all, I'm a huge Bruce Willis fan, there being only one of the movies I've seen him in that I didn't like, for a reason that had nothing to do with his acting. (See my comment on Hart's War). So I knew going into the theater I would probably like it. I'm also a huge fan of Science Fiction, which gave me a second reason to expect to like it. What I wasn't prepared for was a movie that is so original that it defies classification. It crosses so many genre boundaries, it is truly in a class by itself! I'm not big on foreign films, as I have the same linguistic handicap as Korben Dallas (Willis). I only speak two languages, English and Bad English. I also consider subtitles to be usually a distraction. The only exception to that is when I'm watching a true masterpiece like Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai, or a war movie that has dialog in multiple languages to make it more realistic, like The Longest Day or Patton. I also find it hard not to laugh at dubbed movies where the mouth movements are totally out of sync with the dialog. End of digression. This movie is simply a wild ride from start to finish! Every character adds something to the unique flavor of it. When you add stunning visuals, fast pacing, great costume design, and a great soundtrack, it just works superbly on every level. Now back to the acting. Bruce Willis is the American master of delivering hilarious lines with total seriousness. I just can't say enough about Leeloo, (Milla Jovovich). She manages to be tough, vulnerable, childlike, and totally HOT, all at the same time! The same goes for Zorg, (Gary Oldman, or "Scary Gary", as the cast of Air Force One called him). There are very few actors in the world that are as good as a bad guy, and none better. He's at the top of his form here. BTW, did anyone else catch the irony of his given names? Jean-Baptiste, (John the Baptist), and Emmanuel, (one of the names of our Savior, Jesus Christ). Then there's the priest, Vito Cornelius, (Ian Holm), who not only serves as the movie's straight man, but even delivers some very funny lines of his own. I even liked the over the top performance of Ruby Rhod, (Chris Tucker). I thought the interplay between him and Korben Dallas was just hilarious! Including him screaming like a girl when Korben shot the floor all around him so the Mangalores wouldn't get him and the stones. I'm chuckling as I'm writing this! Last but most certainly not least, there's the Diva Plavalaguna, (MaÃ¯wenn Le Besco, speaking and Inva Mula-Tchako, singing). She was absolutely fantastic. I love so many movies that I have to get specific about the genre to name any favorites, but since this movie doesn't fit any single genre, it's my favorite genre crossing movie! 10/10