Fairfax film reviewer Paul Byrne writes Valerian and The City of a Thousand Planets – to give it its full title – from director Luc Besson “is full of wacky and wonderful small ideas that keep your senses tingling (at least at the start)”.
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This new adventure film is based on the ground-breaking comic book series which inspired a generation of artists, writers and filmmakers.
It is the 28th century and Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are a pair of special operatives fighting crime and maintaining order throughout the human territories. Albeit, much of the occupants of the city of Alpha are anything but human.
Under assignment from the Minister of Defence, the two embark on a mission to the astonishing city, an ever expanding metropolis where species from all over the universe have converged over centuries to share knowledge, intelligence and cultures with each other.
There is a mystery at the center of Alpha, a dark force which threatens the peaceful existence of the City of a Thousand Planets, and Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe – a tough ask for two such young protagonists, but they show some kickass moves.
And there’s also some good humour is this science fiction.
Also stars: Clive Owen, Rihanna and Ethan Hawke.
See today’s page 7 for session details.
