A review by Mike Shea Movie Rating: ( * * * · · ) DVD Rating: ( * * * * · )
Buy The Fifth Element from Amazon.com
A lot of people have gone both ways on this movie. From the flashy and tacky previews I saw on top of the very lackluster reviews, I was turned off. I am a big fan of noir sci fi. Bladerunner is king. 12 Monkeys and Dark City are up there. I am not into traditional hollywood Indipendence Day science fiction. Fifth Element is something different. Instead of the blacks of Dark City and Blade Runner we are fed the brights of a giant Macdonalds run by buxom red heads. We are given cigarettes with filters four times longer than the tobacco. We are given giant floating ocean liners, blue alien opera singers and a race of warrior idiots called Mangalores. We are given a rifle that has more firepower than the Death Star, a cab driver named Dallas, and a woman who is the key to saving the world. If you throw out the whole key to saving the world part, and the horribly cheezy climax, the rest of the movie is excellent. Even the obnoxious Chris Tucker grows on you after a second viewing. Overall, this movie is a contrast to the darker sci fi classics, but in my mind gives a fresh look at the genre. Highly recommended. The DVD is anamorphic and Dolby Digital 5.1. The picture and sound are reference material. There are no extras, but we buy for the movies so I highly recommend the purchase. Rent it first though, it isnt for everybody.