Das fünfte Element

THE FIFTH ELEMENT is a complex film....if you WANT it to be! It offers varying levels of analysis depending on the tools you have to dig with! On the surface, a "leave your brain in the cloakroom" sci-fi yarn, you may well find wanting! As far removed from STAR WARS as Austin Powers is from DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER. this film is pitched uniquely at those who can laugh at life but who have deep down an unquenchable desire for adventure and the romantic.

Set on a futuristic earth, where really nothing has changed except the technology, Bruce Willis is STILL John McLane, a has-been stormtrooper reduced now to driving air-cabs for a living...same old premise for him - nothing's changed much since STRIKING DISTANCE, except maybe the yellow hair-rinse. Now, legend has it that in a time long long ago, the forces of darkness visited earth and were repelled by the unification in close proximity, of four stones representing the four elements. earth, wind, fire and water together with a fifth "element" of unknown origin.

Dear old Ian Holm is Priest Cornelius, an expert authority on the five elements and keeper of all knowledge on things magical and mysterious. Gary Oldman in arguably his most way-put role is General Zorg who has done a deal with "The Dark Side" and whose sole purpose is to take possession of the elemental stones. The scene wherein he demonstrates the new weaponry to his alien henchman (from which the one-line "summary quote" above is taken) is an absolute classic of cinema. Milla Jovovich (Married to Besson at the time of the flick) is absolutely rivetting as Leeloo, the cloned/unzipped humanised fifth element. She must have practised long and hard perfecting her ancient language dialog....it's amazing. She strikes exactly the right note as a being of purity, femininity and warrior woman. As the film progresses she assumes the identitiy of the perfect girl any man would wish for and want to protect.

The comedy angle is hysterical, the action sequences in your face, and the fx generally impressive if not mega weird at times. Color and visuals play a major role in this pro-European production, the continent where not surprisingly it was most successful. The outcome naturally is predictable and in the best traditions of "will love save the day?" as if it wasn't always going to???

So, there u have it. Watch it one-dimensionally and that's what you'll get back. let it flow, immerse yourself in IT and you couldn't fail to have a good time, unless of course you are clinically dead or devoid of any sense of fun or fantasy ....but in that case you'd be wasting your time anyway, it wasn't MADE for you!

It's 300 years after the previous visit, a Mondoshawan spaceship is bringing the Fifth Element back to Earth to defeat a coming great evil. However it is destroyed by the evil Mangalores on the behest of the greedy Zorg (Gary Oldman). A team of scientists use the DNA found at the crash site to recreate the Fifth Element, a perfect warrior called Leeloo (Milla Jovovich). She escapes from the laboratory and drops in on taxi driver Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis). He helps her find Father Vito Cornelius (Ian Holm) to bring the five elements together to defeat the evil.

This is a great looking sci-fi movie from director Luc Besson. It proves that big sci-fi production is not just an American domain. Luc Besson brings an entirely different sense and visual look to the genre. It is artistic and wonderful. The fashion from Jean-Paul Gaultier really sets this apart. Bruce Willis does his John McClane persona once again. Milla Jovovich makes the best entrance, and Chris Tucker is wacky funny. It is visual candy coated fun.

I really believe that they billed this movie wrong. Many folks came in expecting the next Star Wars and were disappointed, to say the least. It's not like Star Wars. It's kinda like a live action comic book. Visually stunning, awesome use of color that just jumps out at you, and non-stop action, lots of it done with tongue firmly in cheek. Plot? Well forget the plot, it's the weak point of the film. But hey who ever said comic books had to have strong plots? Willis, Jovovich, and the rest do a fine job. I especially like the casting of Jovovich, she exudes innocence, vulnerability, sex, exotica, intelligence, and kung fu machismo all at the same time. So turn off the cynicism sign as you watch and just enjoy the ride. Great stuff!

There is so much entertainment in this movie it would be almost stupid to write about its flaws. Especially the story is not the best thing here, but who cares. I liked every scene, every moment in this movie. The movie opens in Egypt, 1914, and we meet some strange creatures. From here on we know this is not going to be a normal or very serious sci-fi action movie. The creatures tell a priest that the stones are no longer save on earth and they take some things. They tell the priest they will return in 300 years, when evil arrives.

300 years later. The strange creatures return but they are attacked by other strange creatures. The only thing that survives is reconstructed and turns out to be Lee Loo (Milla Jovovich). She is the fifth element, the ultimate weapon against evil. Evil here looks like a great ball of fire. Lee Loo escapes from the authorities, and in an astonishing shot we see how a city looks like now. She jumps of a building and ends up in the flying cab of Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis). He saves her from the police, she asks for priest Vito Cornelius (Ian Holm), he brings her there.

We learn a little more about Lee Loo here. She needs four stones, the four other elements, to save the world. The stones are on a vacation resort where we meet DJ Ruby Rhod (Chris Tucker). He has some funny scenes as well. We have also met Zorg, who is played by Gary Oldman in a great way. The attack on the strange creatures early in the movie was planned by him. He wants the stones as well, he is offered a lot of money for them. How the story develops from here I will not reveal.

The story doesn't even matter. In every scene we have something to like. Beautiful settings, great visual effects, Gary Oldman, the beautiful Jovovich or the funny moments from Bruce Willis, Chris Tucker and Ian Holm. May be this movie is not for everyone but if you don't think to much you will definitely like it.

One of the greatest sci-fi movies ever, wrapped up in one of the most subtle love stories ever. The characters are well cast and well acted. The creature costumes and effects are amazing for their time. The story is unique and dynamic. A true classic.