The Fifth Element
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
“It Mu5t Be Found.”
Wow. THAT is a cheesy tagline… But it fits.The Fifth Element is another fav of ours. We saw it a few times in the theater and have bought it several times. My husband came home with it on Blu-ray the other day and we don’t even have a player yet… lol… he keeps trying to buy one but no matter where he goes, the one he wants is always sold out. Damn you Sony and your winning format with no inventory to back up your dang victory!
This movie is a wild and colorful ride… let me see if I can sum it up for you: the movie takes place in the not-so-distant future involving an ex-military-man-turned cabbie [Bruce Willis], a priest and his apprentice [Ian Holm & Charlie Creed Miles], a strange he-she entertainment host that makes buzzing noises [Chris Tucker], a greedy empire owner looking to profit on ‘Evil’s’ sloppy seconds [Gary Oldman] and his alien henchmen, the President [Tommy 'Tiny' Lister, aka "Zeus" of wrestling fame] and his men [lead by Brion James], an alien opera singer [Maïwenn Le Besco] and the ultimate weapon engineered to destroy “Evil” when it attacks Earth every 5,000 years [Milla Jovovich]. She’s a fragile girl, who catches up on what’s been going on with us humans in the last 5 millenia and starts to question if we’re worth saving at all… there. I dare you to try to tell anyone else the same thing [who hasn't seen the movie] and not have them accuse you of being insane! =)
Written and directed by Luc Besson, this movie has a very fun and surreal feel to it. It’s not to be taken seriously, as it obviously doesn’t take itself seriously at all. It’s a fun take on our potential future, what it might look like, what techologies we might develop, and which way our fashion MAY go… Costume design went to the avant garde Jean-Paul Gaultier, and a few famous models of the day make appearances in the film, as well as a hilarious cameo by who I think is Isaac Mizrahi, although it’s credited as a no-name with no information on imdb… so who knows, maybe I’m wrong, but it looks just like him…
The attention to detail in this one is awesome, as are the effects considering it came out in ‘97. The dialog is quick and funny – we picked up on so much more, after watching it over and over… Even the music by Eric Serra is wonderful. We own the soundtrack and still listen to it often…
If you love a fun escape from reality and laugh easily, you’ll love this. If you tend to take movie-watching more seriously or prefer stuff on the dark and edgy side, you may not like it [and may need to lighten up a bit... ;) ]. Either way, I think it’s worth seeing. It’s original and for us, it’s a classic. 4 out of 5.
Add’l Info: Released: May 9, 1997 • Runtime: 126 minutes • Rated PG-13 for intense sci-fi violence, some sexuality and brief nudity
