A interesting sci-fi/comedy with stunning visuals

Rating: 8/10 (27 June 2001)

This review might contain SPOILERS, read at your own risk.
Before I review a movie, I always read some reviews in case there's something I missed that will help me understand the movie better. Unfortunately, what I usually find is: "This is the worst movie ever! The acting sucked, there was no plot and the whole thing was a disaster."
So for those of you that missed it; there IS a plot.
There is a great evil threatening the world. To stop this evil from eradicating life, four stones have to be arranged and opened with the fifth element (a supreme being) in the middle. The race against time begins for both good and evil to gain possession of these stones. That's a short version of the plot.
So while the plot is no masterpiece, I think it's fairly interesting with some really good ideas. I also applaud the makers of 'The Fifth Element' for not totally copying another movie (which is a very common practise these days). The acting was decent; nothing great, but it's good enough not to affect the viewer in a negative way. Special effects were pretty good, so was the scenery and the soundtrack. Sometimes it's hard to understand the dialogue because of the loud music playing at the same time.
Oh, some of you might not have noticed it, but this movie is a COMEDY. That means you need to have a sense of humour to enjoy it and that not everything in the movie should be taken seriously. We all know that evil is not an object, so quit whining about the fact that it was represented as a flaming ball. Milla Jovovich might not be the perfect actress to play a supreme being, but then who is? I can't imagine anyone being put in that role without being criticized. Maybe the costumes were a little bit over the top, but come on! What do you expect from a movie where the bad guy is called Zorg? Chris Tucker's character was meant to be annoying, but I think he was funny (and annoying).
So 'The Fifth Element' is a great sci-fi/comedy that is fun to watch. Multiple viewings help in understanding the movie better (I've seen it about 5 times).
GOOD: A unique movie with action, great visual effects, interesting characters and light atmosphere.
BAD: Sometimes the dialogue is hard to understand, due to the loud background music and the acting is not as good as it could have been.
RATING: 8/10