Customer Reviews
Futuristic actioner - By: Chris Wood, 16 Sep 2008 
This has great performances from Bruce Willis & Gary Oldman, & while it's notin the same league as Leon the Professional (also directed by Luc Besson), there's a lot to enjoy here.
so cool I watch it every 6 months - By: CjW, 07 Nov 2007 
This film is so much fun I watch it gain after 6 months.
I have never done this with another film!
Quick Reviews! - By: carlosnightman, 07 Oct 2007 *** This comment may contain spoilers ***
Luc Besson shows again why he was one of the most stylish & innovative directors of the nineties with this effort. Bringing together a wildly varied cast, from action stars to stage actors to supermodels to cult heroes, & putting themin a genre defying film about the salvation of earthin the future, he gives one of the most visually impressive films of the era, as well as one of the most entertaining.
The story beginsin the early 20th century with an archaeologist & friend uncovering proof of aliens, & of a mysterious fifth element, the only thing capable of saving the world from destruction. Aliens arrive & take the apparent device, leaving Luke Perry to pass on the secret through the generations. Flash forward a few centuries & we meet a group of scientists who have found the Fifth Element. It is a beautiful young woman, & half the galaxy is after her, including evil aliens, & the tyrannical Gary Oldman. The young woman escapes, only to literally crash into washed up taxi driver & ex soldier Bruce Willis. She speaksin an alien language, but together they find Ian Holm, a descendant of the original archaeologist. Thus begins a frantic race to save the world from an approaching black ball of shadow, while protecting the fifth element from capture.
The film has much to give- the sets, effects, & costumes are all wonderful, giving one of the best visions of the future since Blade Runner, & borrowing many ideas from such sci-fi classics. There are brilliant performances from all, though Oldman, Johovich, & Tucker stand out. The film is bursting with ideas & imagination, there are many funny moments, & the message that love can conquer all, though slightly glossy, is still relevant. At times bizarre, but always highly watchable, the Fifth Element is a film which everyone with a heart & soul should enjoy, or at least find something worthwhilein it.
This DVD has plenty of extras- intersting features on the production of the film, lots of trailers, interviews, & a commentary. A must have for sci-fi fans, & if you have a few pounds going spare this is one everyone should try.
Die Hard meets Star Wars - By: Philip Solo, 17 Aug 2007 Bruce Willis plays himself admirably amidst a comic ' save the universe ' plot & even manages a Die Hard reminiscent orange vest designed by master outfitter Jean Paul Gaultier who lends a future Fellini-esque element to the bustling cast of eccentric characters. Bruce's indolent, malcontent ex-special-forces resignee turned taxi driver ( I know the feeling ) seeths with urban survivalist irritation & takes no prisoners. He gives us tonguein cheek 'frozen-then-revived John McLean style' see the scene 'anyone else want to negotiate?' for that revelant comparison!
Luc Besson's high-octane film is beautifully thought out & set against the classic french futurist visions of two French comic book artists, Jean Claude Mezieres & Moebius, who inspired, & ultimately worked with writer/director Luc Besson, on the film's overall production design creating a stunning 'comic book' influenced grande-scale series of sets.
The seething future-vision multi layered city with its nestling protective smog layer, flying cars, vertical monorails & lifts & urban sky level walkways echoes & precedes scenes from Blade Runner & Minority Report but is tinged with the yellow/reds of Marvel Comic land. Yesin this movie the future is predominantly Orange at times! Bruce's insouciant action hero taxi driver excells as he daredevil pilots his adapted classic NYC Yellow Cab thru multi level city sky trafficin scenes worthy of John Dykstra's Star Wars breakneck speed hoverbike & Tie fighter chases.
Leeloo (Milla Jovovich) is the mysterious personnified 5th Element loaned sacrificially by a visually circular metallic alien race of robot-like creatures Modoshawans, who clearly have a Stargate feel about them. She comesin an unconventionally curveless real life mere 19 year old girl-package with a hint of underfed lower-teen-androgyne. Of course this being 20th Century family Hollywood such a perilously ingenue creature is ludicrously but interestingly costumed for the sake of cinema modesty. At least Jean-Paul's minimally creative 'bandaged car crash victim' outfit is a change from the usual silver bikini of futurist fems.
Emmanuel Zorg (Gary Oldman) is an unlikeable posturing villainin comically non frightening Lex Luther mode reporting to a dark, unearthly never revealed planet-killing force. The best characterisations are the shape-changing assassins, Mangalores, which were the prosthetically challenging special effects triumph. They are the grunts - storm trooper type stock enemy troops who were actually pretty cool-lookingin the film, but dumb as they come.
Sexiest creaturesin the movie are the sky-blue outfitted Gaultier dressed scantily-clad stewardesses on the interplanetary flight liner who fit all out many male notions of what flight attendancy should be all about!
The rest is villainy, comedy interchange, laser battles, huge explosions, & all the usual Die Hard cliches transferred to a spacefaring environment. If you are looking for the va-va-voom element it's all provided by the camply outrageous multi-media show host presenter, the idiotically vain & narcissistic Ruby Rhod. This skillfully realised annoying yet ultimately watchable pastiche character gives Jar-Jar Binks a decent run for his money as he/she can talk-sing non-stop like a 20 to the dozen future version of RuPaul on speed. Jean-Paul went to town on the looks & costumes for this mega-camp media star & Bruce's visible action-male discomfort & bemusement is a treat to observe when first cornered by the outrageous over the top Ruby, who makes the UK's Lily Savage look like a shy retiring wallflower.
Bruce triumphsin the end (natch!)and doesnt say Yippe-kay-yay Mofo even one time....and the bad guy meets the usual just fate & the universe is savedin the nick of timein true Capt Kirk/Flash Gordon style. Hoorah !
The films scores for me for sheer fun value & the comic book comedic action & dialogue is balanced against the superb futuristic detail & grandiose set visions. My favourite moment of the entire film is the start when Bruce is buying noodles from the wonderful old chinese manin his 'floating red-sailed' sky junk steaming awayin the breakneck cluttered traffic snarled sky. This makes the opening of the film reminiscent of Deckard at the noodle standin Blade Runner. I loved the homage & incongruity of that scene.
Allin all I like this film & have watched it many times. Although it's a comic romp & lacks the gritty drama of my other favourite movies, for many reasons the overall futurist 'dream' of it & the fun exuberance of seeing Bruce play his favourite action hero cliche out on the future sci fi stage make it a regularly revisited DVD.
Sci Fi Classic with Futurist Undertones - By: Jay, 17 May 2007 From the vast timeless desert expanse of Egypt, then reaching far out into space, touching the future of Earth, comes an extraordinary story of how a race of beings have come to protect the planet Earth from ultimate oblivion. In order to do that, the powerful Mondoshawan race entrusted four very special elemental stones within a crept to be usedin conjunction with The Fifth Element which morphs them into an unimaginable power of cosmic proportions. The story itself is fantasticin it's inception, wondrousin it's creation, explosivein it's delivery & dynamicin it's projected outcome. The film advances rapidly through the masterful & exciting talents of Bruce Willis as taxi driving Korben Dallas & Gary Oldman as Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg. He is devilishly crafty as the servant of the Great Evil. Ian Holm is religiously mysterious as Father Vito Cornelius & Milla Jovovich is excitingly sexy as Leeloo. Allin all, with the great spectrum of colorful characters, weapons & special effects, writer, director Luc Besson blends drama, tragedy & comedy to create a superior film which evolves quietly into a classic.
