One of Sci-Fi's Best Just Happens to be a Comedy

Rating: 10/10 (2 February 2000)

Those who do not appreciate "The Fifth Element" fall into two categories: those who don't like sci-fi, and those who didn't understand that this film is a comedy.
And what a comedy it is. We could only hope that all comedies could be done on this grand of a scale, with so much visual flair and invention. "The Fifth Element" succeeds because it never takes itself seriously, because it knowingly borrows from nearly every science fiction movie ever made. Is there any doubt that the designers at Lucasfilm were blown away by this film? Most of the artistic schemes at work in "The Phantom Menace" resemble those seen in this Luc Besson creation.
The story is pure cheese, but the frame built around it is nothing but ingenious. All of the acting is wonderful in this film, from Bruce Willis playing a very amusing variation on his one character (the character of Bruce Willis) to Milla Jovovich's seamless use of an invented language. Naturally, Gary Oldman delivers as the bad guy, and Ian Holm shows a gift for comedy that I never expected to see.
The truest delights of the film are the clever transitions from one scene to the next; Oldman asks a question in one scene, and he is answered by Jovovich's laugh as Besson cuts to another scene. There are nifty moves like this throughout the film.
"The Fifth Element" is often viewed as goofy, guilty pleasure; I see it as one of the best science fiction films ever made. Give it another chance.