The Fifth Element (1997)

Cast: Bruce Willis, Mila Jovovich, Ian Holm, Chris Tucker and Gary Oldman

Director: Luc Besson

The Lowdown: A young woman (Mila Jovovich) who is "the perfect being" needed to stop a great evil falls into the hands of an unwitting cab driver named Dallas Corbyn (Willis) who for the sake of plot convenience is also a former special forces major. Upon learning said girl's significance Dallas is roped into a web of intriguing involving a priest (Ian Holm), some old special forces buddies, ugly aliens and an evil, wealthy tycoon (Oldman). Chris Tucker.

The Good: For starters, anybody that's ever seen an action film directed by Luc Besson (i.e. The Professional, Unleashed, etc.)  can vouch that the man knows his way around a wide array of action sequences. "The Fifth Element" carries on Besson's tradition of well constructed popcorn flicks that are mind blowing from a technical standpoint. As such, for the action fan there's a wide variety of action sequences. Futuristic car chases, martial arts and exploding space ships the size of planets: "The Fifth Element" has just about any kind of action sequence you could imagine.

In addition, "Element" takes place in a visually appealing, goofy futuristic society, complete with all the flying cars and absurd gadgets you could asks for. Similarly, the absurd costumes worn by the characters makes the film feel like the big budget realization of a movie some kid came up with whilst playing with a wide assortment of obscure 1980s sci-fi action figures found discarded in a budget bin at Wal-Mart. After this the figures were subsequently used to model the clothing style of characters in the film.

"Element" also has a great deal of wacky humor that would be right at home in a more violent Loony Tunes cartoon (one starring Bruce Willis as Bugs Bunny). As a result, the film has a looseness that makes it feel like a big budget B-movie and gives it what tvtropes.org defines as narm charm. On top of all that Element benefits from having proven thespians like Gary Oldman and Ian Holm in supporting roles.

Also, there's a scene late in the film, that I won't ruin, that's a perfect textbook example of juxtaposition at its finest.

The Bad: All the above elements would make one think "The Fifth Element" has chances of being one of those cases of "so bad its good". Unfortunately, the film can't quite decide what it wants to do with its self, it tries oh so hard to be simultaneously a goofy film and also take itself seriously. This is ultimately what weighs the film down and keeps from being more than average. If all the focus had been put into making a compelling sci-fi action flick or into making a goofy near parody of one it would have been a better film. Unfortunately its too much for one film to do both.

Another thing that does not help matters is the acting of some of the film's performers. I'm looking at you Mila Jovovich and Chris Tucker. Jovovich's "perfect being" character is nearly impossible to empathize with because she's just so damn wooden and is ultimately just there to look pretty. Her performance is at least tolerable though. Chris Tucker on the other hand starts out funny but ends up becoming more an more annoying with each passing second of screen time. To make matters worse for most of the second half Tucker is the film's designated comic relief. As such, what should have been a minor role becomes a major supporting role that one appreciates less and less as the film wears on.

Finally, its pacing that keeps "Element" from meeting its full potential. 127 minutes is simply too long for the film's thin storyline by a good 30 minutes or so.

Best Line: General Munro: Three reasons. One - as a member of the elite special forces unit of the Federated Army, you are expert in the use of all major weapons & space craft needed for this mission. Two - of all the members of your unit, you were the most highly decorated.
Dallas: ...and the third one?
General Munro: Of all the members of your unit, you're the only one left alive.

In Short: While it succeeds from a technical standpoint "The Fifth Element" is too indecisive about what kind of film it wants to be. Ultimately, this along with a few bad casting and pacing decisions keeps the film from being even a memorable blockbuster.

5 out of 10