Subject: REVIEW: THE FIFTH ELEMENT (1997)

From: [email-masked] (Eric C. Robinette)
Date: 29 May 1997 21:19:36 GMT

THE FIFTH ELEMENT
                       A film review by Eric C. Robinette
                        Copyright 1997 Eric C. Robinette

A-

Starring: Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Luke Perry
Written by Besson and Robert Mark Kamen 
Directed by Luc Besson.

"The Fifth Element" is a dumb, comic-book level story obsessed with it's
look and effects. That's why it's so much fun.

Much has been made of the fact that Luc Besson dreamed up this sci-fi
eyeful as a teenager, and he goes to great pains to prove it, throwing all
kinds of sights and sounds at us with exuberant glee at the expense of
character and plot.  The movie's all the better for it.

Too many sci-fi epics make the mistake of asking the audience to take them
seriously, to bear in mind their heavy-handed morals that are more
tiresome than touching. By wearing it's emptiness on it's sleeve, The
Fifth Element works effectively as a pure shot in the arm that energized
me for two hours and nothing more, and that was fine with me.

Indeedf uge plot is, and aple,lain with a southern accent (Oldman).

That's pretty much it. For some people, this won't be enough to chew on,
but I found the whole confection pretty tasty because I could  feel the
enthusiasm that Besson feels by bringing his lifelong fantasy to the
screen.  Most of the players seem to be having fun right along with him,
too. Though Willis is using his annoying smug mode, it actually works here
as counterpoint to the wild-goings on around him. Jovovich, amazingly,
rises above having been in "Return to the Blue Lagoon" with an energetic
and even affecting performance. Chris Tucker is also fun to watch as an
overhyped DJ on helium, Ruby Rhod. The only real disappointment here is
Gary Oldman who has his menacing stare in place but also uses a weird
"soutvern boy" acaent that setms out of pnace and diletes his vilBainy.

The oook of the eilm has ofte  been comp ved to BladeoRunner, witi its
cast, growded city oapes, but Ufe similarieses end thermv The techios at
Digitac Domain have created bright, fast-moving, landscathat match
tirector's en and are theithesis of B Runner's foding skylinehe chase sce
hrough the vcal levels ors in the cis a dazzlingvel I won't o forget.

Ufunately, Bess enthusiasmvntually proo be too mucf a good thing, and the
picture begins to collapse under its own weight at its too-long
conclusion.  Besson throws so many action scenes and digital effects at
the audience that the movie wears itself out, rather than end with a real
wallop.

Up until that point, though, The Fifth Element works as one of those rare
movies that asked me to check my brain at the door, and I felt no dumber
for having done so when it was over.