Having fun with the sci-fi genre

Rating: 8/10 (6 October 2010)

From the ecstatic mind of artistic visionary Luc Besson comes one of the most colorful and exciting science fiction adventures ever. The Fifth Element takes place 250 years in the future when humanity is threatened by the arrival of pure evil. The only way to stop this oncoming threat is by harnessing the power of four stones, each representing one of the four elements, through the fifth element which is in the form of a human being named Leeloo, who is played by Milla Jovovich in her breakthrough starring role. Bruce Willis plays Corbin Dallas, the cab driver who through being in the wrong place at the wrong time (or right place at the right time depending on how you look at it), meets Leeloo and must then protect her against those trying to prevent her from stopping evil. These opposing forces are led by the always incredible and over-the-top Gary Oldman. If everything else about this movie sucked, Oldman's incredible performance would still make it worth the watch. The whole film is a wildly fun ride that takes us to a futuristic world full of such vibrancy and adventure that allows us to set aside everything we know as reality, and escape into a whole new and exciting world. And that's what movies should be, right? Not only does The Fifth Element make a good fun escape film, it's simply just a well made film altogether. The story itself doesn't break new boundaries of storytelling, but it is prevalent, focused, and fun. There is however, an excellently weaved in use of comedy on the sci-fi backdrop. There are many elements of this film that are intelligently and appropriately over exaggerated for an effective blend of comedy and drama. Nothing is too overdone, or hammed up, or forced. Some of the dialouge itself might not be perfect, but everything works together very well, and all elements of the film compliment each other nicely. It's easy for a blending of genres to go horribly wrong, but The Fifth Element gets it just right, and a lot of this is due to great characters. The casting choices for this film were nothing short of excellent. I already emphasized it before, but I could not take my eyes off the screen while Gary Oldman was on it.
Where The Fifth Element excels the most, however, would be its visuals. There are fantastic backdrops in this film with some great art direction that never leaves you feeling cheated out of seeing some sci-fi goodness. You get to see the facade of some wicked looking buildings, and then are also treated to the bizarre artsy contemporary sci-fi architecture on the inside. What makes this film the most artistically memorable would definitely be the colors. Instead of dwelling on the dark greys and blues that we commonly see in these futuristic urban settings, we have bright vibrant colors that flash, blink, and whir all around us in this fast paced world. But of course in such a beautifully designed world, we have to have a great director to show us this world in all its glory. And The Fifth Element has just the person to achieve this task, and it is Luc Besson. Besson's directing truly does bring this film to life. This is sort of a "no duh" statement but if you've seen the movie you'll know what I mean. The man can shoot an action sequence like no other, and this film has no shortage of action. There are plenty of memorable scenes ranging from high above the ground in flying cars, to an opera house full of aliens (and a Prince clone). Besson can direct these electrifying scenes with such precise editing ability that you don't miss a thing, only sucking you into the action of this film even more. And as an added note I would have to say that The Fifth Element has one of the neatest portrayals of the flying car I have ever seen.
It's fun, it's fast paced, it's bright, it's vivid, and it's incredibly well made. Why wouldn't you see The Fifth Element? This is definitely one of those films that is hard not to enjoy. From start to finish it's an exciting sci-fi adventure that grabs hold of mind and never lets go until the end.