THE FIFTH ELEMENT (Luc Besson, 1997) **1/2

Rating: 6/10 (5 August 2011)

While I had missed out on this on initial release and various TV airings over the years, it now ended up being my second BluRay viewing! It was Bruce Willis' second of 3 sci-fi epics made in the space of as many years â€“ the others being the superior TWELVE MONKEYS (1995) and the even lesser Armageddon (1998). Luc Besson often dabbled in fantasy and, though re-united with Gary Oldman from LEON (1994), this proved the French director's first real brush with Hollywood.
The film is redolent of two earlier genre landmarks, namely STAR WARS (1977; in its plethora of monstrous characters) and BLADE RUNNER (1982; the 'chaotic' look); plot-wise, it owes a bit to RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981) given the danger-fraught odyssey relating to an archaeological find. Casting, too, channels famous (musical/film) personalities with Oldman's campy villain evoking David Bowie, while Chris Tucker's outrageous but irrelevant TV show host brings to mind Prince!; in a similar key, actors from earlier classic sci-fi titles have been recruited: Ian Holm from ALIEN (1979), Brion James from BLADE RUNNER itself and John Neville who, though best-known for THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN (1989), was also the lead of the low-budgeted but superb UNEARTHLY STRANGER (1963).
As expected, the film looks great (showcasing imaginative production/costume design and special effects) and, while the central theme is interesting (if hardly original), the ending is a disappointment: Oldman is dispatched before the climax and by his own volatile 'thugs' to boot, whereas a super alien promising a showdown with the Forces of Good is conveniently dealt with by the ray of light unleashed when the mythic five elements come together in Egypt (some form of direct confrontation would not have been amiss at this point)! Incidentally, the ruse of forcing Willis (here sporting blond hair) to admit his love for heroine Milla Jovovich obviously rips-off the finale of Howard Hawks' RIO BRAVO (1959) â€“ just as the couple's lovemaking being interrupted by suddenly adulating authority figures smacks of the James Bond movies! By the way, Besson would probably be deemed a visionary now, not so much for his futuristic films, but for daring to make the American President a black man (though DEEP IMPACT {1998} soon after employed the very same device)!
The film, then, is action-packed, thus reasonably entertaining, but it also contains a number of flaws â€“ mainly Tucker's embarrassing and overbearing character and the supreme silliness of having an alien for a singing operatic diva (actually, the whole over-the-top section on the flying cruise-liner was a mistake)! On the other hand, Jovovich and Oldman (helped in no small measure by their respectively sparse and gaudy attire) are a delight throughout and the main reason for watching this...