Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

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Valerian and the City of a Thousand Worlds is an often-visually stunning but strange science fiction adventure starring Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne as two young lovers-Valerian and Laureline-who are also human government agents/soldiers trying to solve the mystery of a doomed alien princess and her destroyed world. CGI and SFX heavy, the film suffers from uneven pacing, hammy dialogue, underdeveloped characters and inevitable comparable elements to Star Wars, Star Trek, The Fifth Element (which director Luc Besson also worked on), Blade Runner, Total Recall and Avatar. Rutger Hauer and Rihanna show up briefly as the President of their Federation and a shape-shifting entertainer, while John Goodman appears as a Pirate leader. Worthy of seeing as a glossy artwork film that could have used better characterizations.

Erik M.

A Saturday morning cartoon for grown-ups, "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets" is pure cinematic spectacle.

A dizzying display of constant special effects and non-stop action, the film's aim is to entertain first and foremost. And that it does on a consistent basis. If you desire a deep story or compelling characters, you won't get that here. The main characters are blank slates and the plot is a paper-thin series of excuses to set up the next big effects set-piece. However, if you want a wild thrill-ride like nothing you've seen before, you'll get your money's worth. It's one of the most rampantly creative films I've seen in years.

And so, I'm giving it a 4 out of 5 - "Valerian" is great, shallow, spellbinding, escapist fun.

TedStixon

Continuity mistake: Laureline is not wearing a safety harness when talking to Valerian, but it appears and disappears several times as the shot cuts back and forth to Valerian. Laureline then puts on the safety harness she was already wearing.

More mistakes in Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Jolly the Pimp: Rules are rules and this is a place where we make love, not war.

More quotes from Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Trivia: The welcoming Captains were writers and directors who have worked with Luc Besson.

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Question: Where did the Mül converter, the creature that replicates any product, come from? A lot of people seem to know about it even though planet Mül is unknown and unvisited, and more importantly, completely destroyed. The only survivors of the planet were hidden inside a damaged spaceship along with the only pearl they managed to save, so where did the creature come from? Isn't it native to the planet as well?

Answer: As portrayed in the film, the Mül converter is a native creature from the planet Mül. Given that several decades have passed since the destruction of the planet and its former citizens have been traveling to the stars, it's obvious that over time, other people and races learned about the Mül converter's powers, hence it became sought after on the black market. It was likely among the few beings who were saved before they planet's destuction - the Pearls seemed to keep them as pets, so it's very likely that one or two were brought along when they escaped, even if we didn't see it happen.

TedStixon

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