Meh. I give it a 6/10. Interesting in points, but it was too long, and really dragged in parts.
Am I the only one who thought that Dane Haan at 5' 8" was just a bit too short for this role?
I kept picturing Michael J. Fox through the whole movie. Haan seemed to be channeling him.
😎
This movie is frustrating, because it was kind of good in some ways, but it had the potential to be really great.
And FYI absolutely everyone thought the two leads were totally miscast. They should have been a couple of badasses, instead they looked like a couple of high school kids who'd wandered onto the set.
Otter, I couldn't have said it better myself.
😎
Garsh, thanks!
But yeah, that's kind of what everyone says about this film. Sometimes that kind of consensus annoys me as it shows that there's groupthink going on rather than people thinking for themselves... but really. What else can anyone say about this movie?
Not much. Someone once remarked to Gene Roddenberry, "90 % of TV is crap." Gene responded, "90% of everything is crap." I believe that applies to movies also.
😎
Actually, it was sci-fi writer Theordore Sturgeon who said that, and if any eldernerd ever mentions "Sturgeon's Law" they're referring to that quote.
It's probably true of "Valerian", hur hur!
Thanks, otter. I like being edjamacated.
😎
Somethings I wonder if Sturgeon's Law might possibly apply to the viewing audiences as well.
shareWell you can edit your "absolutely everyone" comment because I liked Dane and Cara here. If the tone of the film had been serious, sure, they're miscast. But I thought they fit the light-hearted, often goofy, sometimes juvenile tone and feel of the movie, and they brought good energy to the screen.
shareLight-hearted tone or not, those two were supposed to be playing badasses.
Two adult humans who are less badass would be hard to find, outside of an old folks' home
I'm trying to imagine The Rock in the lead and it's just not working for me.
shareActually, I like Dwayne Johnson, his films are hilarious! Although the kind of ridiculous, deadpan, absurd, sly, borderline-camp humor that makes his films so much fun would have ruined this film.
Pretty much any young actor with a sense of humor and a gym membership would have been better cast than those two dweebs.
Well, I liked them and thought they fit in well with this particular movie.
I will admit though that Dane's physique was very unimpressive. I watched the behind-the-scenes feature on the DVD and he said he worked with a trainer every day for months to get in shape for the film. That shocked me because it didn't really look like he tried to get in shape at all. Maybe he had a shitty trainer.
As for The Rock, I like him too. But I don't think he would've fit as the lead in Valerian. The energy's all wrong.
Nice to know we agree about the Rock. He's just fun to watch!
As for the two dweebs, well, it wasn't just DeHaan. There was a scene where spindly Laureline sits on a grown man and punches him, the audience in the theater laughed out loud, and it was NOT intended to be a funny scene. DeHaan is probably great in the right role, but well, it's nice that there's someone who liked him as Valerian and doesn't think he was miscast.
My first exposure to DeHaan was through the concert film Metallica Through the Never. If you've never seen it, it mixes concert footage with scripted narrative footage, and Dane was the guy they brought in as their actor. I remember thinking he was probably going to blow up and become a star but he never really did. I like him though and think that he should get cast more often.
Back to The Rock, he's always fun. I've been a fan since The Scorpion King (an underrated film, in my opinion). One of his best performances comes in what I think is probably one of his lesser seen roles, in Michael Bay's Pain & Gain.
Oh, I wouldn't count DeHaan out, for a good actor stardom is always just one good role away! Or maybe he has the sense to want to be an Actor and not a Star, a good trained actor can work until they're playing the hero's great-grandpa, while a Star is a has-been in a couple of years.
I mean he was likeable enough as Valerian and I wish him all the best, it's not his fault the director had some odd ideas about casting.
I'd give it the same score. I actually thought the first half was pretty good, but then I started to lose interest when it seemed to be just all running and shooting. The visuals were great and the whole scene in the beginning at the market or whatever was great too.
I had no problem with Dane Dehaan. I like him, reminds me of young Dicaprio who is my favourite actor.
Weird, the big market scene is by far by least favorite movie and I think it drags the film down as a whole.
I agree on Dane though. I like him too. If you are at all a Metallica fan, go watch Metallica Through the Never. That was my introduction to Dane DeHaan.
I just finished it and thought it was pretty good. 7/10.
It would be stronger if it didn't have the overly long, goofy-as-hell big market scene. The first time I tried to watch the film, I got to that scene and turned it off. Then two years later I decided to give it another go. Glad I did, because it gets better after that.
Visually the film is amazing and, unlike most others it seems, I liked Dane and Cara as the leads.
I still have to watch this, but my brother said it was good. Knowing Luc Besson, it was bound to be a really weird, action-filled flick.
share"A really weird, action-filled flick" is exactly what it is. It's got a lot of the same weird vibes as The Fifth Element but isn't nearly as good. It's still worth a watch though.
Just a heads up: There a long sequence near the beginning--the Big Market sequence--which you may find super-goofy and off-putting. If you find yourself not getting into it, don't bail. The movie improves.
It was weird, but only you can decide if you like it by seeing it. If you do, please let us know what you think of it.
😎