Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

"It’s not surprising that there are some visually interesting moments to behold in Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. As thoroughly-documented elsewhere, Luc Besson’s space adventure is both the most expensive European film, and most expensive independent film, ever made. With much of The Fifth Element’s charm coming from being overstuffed with ideas and visually overloaded by Besson to joyously crazy proportions, you’d be forgiven from expecting the same here given the resources employed."

"I worry that people will minimize Besson's achievement because of his herky-jerky script, but Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is more than the sum of its effects."

"An expansive, expensive adventure whose creativity outweighs its more uneven elements."

"If we're going to have space operas, let them sing in the strangest accents possible."

"The City might be an interesting place to spend some time if a busy and chaotic story didn't keep getting in the way, and if we were allowed to hang out for a little while longer with Ethan Hawke and Rihanna."

"Valerian is exuberant, extravagant, and generally likable. Yet many parts of the movie just don't work. Sticklers for things like acting and dialogue are likely to be dissatisfied."

"When you enter the theatre, you can pick up your 3-D glasses with one hand and drop off your brain with the other. All in all, you might not consider it the worst exchange."

"The Razzies don't need to wait until the end of the year to anoint a winner for 2017. The Golden Turkey Awards should be republished with a new cover."