Dane DeHaan just doesn't work as the heroic leading man...
Not good looking enough, not the body type or the personality.
He works as a creepy outsider who gets bullied in school.
nailed it
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MovieChat Forums > Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) Discussion > Dane DeHaan just doesn't work as the her...
Cara D. was just as miscast, the two of them were plain and physically frail and totally unbelievable as badasses. And he can act a bit, but she can't.
It's such a pity, the film was awesome in many ways but was sunk by the terrible leading actors.
Yes, her too.
Otherwise the film is interesting. There are lot of details I like.
I know right? It was so weird . . .
shareI agree. One of the worst casting decisions I saw in years.
shareI totally agree. I am watching right now but I couldn’t wait for it to finish to come complain on movie chat. 😂
shareWouldn't someone who is youthful looking lend to their genetic superiority?
shareI LIKED HIM AND DELEVIGNE...THE FILM WAS JUST TOO CLUTTERED.
shareSame. It was super different, and odd, but quite honestly, I think they did their roles just fine.
People just have their very specific standards/expectations.
I mean, jesus, Chris Pratt is totally unconvincing as a leading man too but somehow, people eat up GotG and Jurassic lol
I think he's fine. I'm a bit fed up with over-muscled, slightly tongue in cheek heroic hunks. I think he and Cara Delevingne held the film together. On first viewing at the cinema the film seemed a bit top heavy on the CGI but after a few reruns I like it more because the two leads are pretty good and good together.
shareso, why do you think it failed so bad, if it wasn't the leads were crap?
shareInteresting question and I don't know the answer.
Could it be because it's just so different from a market dominated by the MCU and DCU? Also it's possible that if the two leads had been more conventional and bigger names that might have helped.
I liked the film when I first saw it but did find it a bit busy. I like it a little more with each viewing - perhaps it's one of those film that will grow in reputation over time?
I respect your perspective.
TO ME, it totally tanked only because of the leads. They looked and acted like 14 year olds, not experienced galaxy saviors. ...To me, anyway. I loved the ambition and graphics in the film, even the story, but the leads both made it feel like MTV Spring Break instead of an action sci-fi, TO ME. I suspect many others feel the same way, explaining why it crashed hard. That, and garbage dialog.
Perhaps it will be interesting to revisit this board in ten years when the current obsession with muscular heroics has waned and, possibly, some reassessment has taken place?
true that. I wish the superhero thing would fade, but seems to make too much money. :( someone out there likes it, I guess. ugh.
shareI felt the leads sank the movie and I agree they acted like adolescents but I think for me what sank the movie was that neither of the leads was even remotely likeable. I'm not actually sure they were intended to be, but I think at least one of them had to be likeable for the movie to work. There were aspects to the movie that I liked. I really liked the montage in the beginning with how the city came to exist. There was a sort of comic irony to it that I liked.
shareIf I knew 14 year olds like Cara, I'd call the police on myself. She was fucking HOT in this movie, but that all fell apart when I knew she was with beiber and cyrus, et al.. "Imma piss in front of me car innit" chav bint cyrus is.
She made me hold myself together watching the movie, though... wasted a sock or two. Fuck off, I'm honest. oO
In my opinion, it was too big an attempt - a lot of the story hinged on things that were not explained. I watched it in 2D and when I realised it was also 3D, it put it on my quest 2 and was blown away... But it was long, and struggled to keep me. It was no Matrix - not a comparison but an observation...
That intro though, was what kept me watching... 3 or 4 times, till I finished it. it got to a point where you just want "Nah, fink I'll just watch 8 out of 10 cats..."
Good effects, story could have been hashed out better, acting was on par with a "We'll aim this at young adults." and side bits that were either hit or miss.
It was 7 out of 10 cats for me, Jimmy... uuh uuh uuh uuh aaaahhhh...
Hard sci-fi hardly usually doesn't appeal to the masses unless it's like star trek/star wars.
Guardians of the Galaxy worked out because they turned it into a massive comedy with tons of pop culture references.
But when movies are just so out-there, mainstream audiences usually need something to ground them. (Like Bruce willis in the fifth element for instance).
agreed. I feel Bruce brought some gravitas to his role, where this film felt like maybe it was aiming at the "Y.A." audience? Maybe? since that is hot right now. had they cast some older, more experienced looking characters, might have worked? I am unfamiliar with the original comic book source.... maybe older was being accurate to the source.
Anyway, it is shiny pretty, popcorn flick where I can ALWAYS skip over the hideous Rianna music video part. God, that almost made me seriously walk out of the theater!! I think I did hit the bathroom when that started
Yeah, perhaps was aiming for a YA audience, with these younger more "relatable" protagonists. But the movie's content itself isn't generically YA friendly either.
I'm not foo familiar with the comic, but it's certainly an older comic, so this movie definitely probably had trouble finding any sort of audience given all these disparate factors.
Ethan Hawke was great though lol. I forgot he could act.
That's about how it goes.. Good reply.
Shame the world has come to this... from "The Time Machine" to "Red Dwarf"
Where once the human mind could be succinctly entertained by rigorous thought, deep inner meaning and engaging in conceptual notions of what the future may bring, to "We're a garbage truck lost in space. Millions years after we've all become extinct... and cats have evolved to dress snazzy and eat fish from vending machines. Even the toaster gets pissed at us."
Loved red dwarf though... ;)