Thanks for checking out our new feature, Forgotten Fridays. This is something we want to try out to review some older films that maybe you have forgotten about or maybe never got around to seeing that we just want to share. I have done some of these reviews in the past called Forgotten Gems, but now we want to try and bring you something on a more regular basis.
Today’s review is The Fifth Element
THE GENERAL IDEA
The survival of humanity, becomes the duty of a taxicab driver (and former Special Forces member) named Korben Dallas (Willis) when a young woman named Leeloo (Jovovich) falls into his taxicab. She is the Fifth Element, whose appearance was prophesied by Father Vito Cornelius (Holm). Korben’s mission is to gather the other four elements (represented by four stones) before a dark planet that represents pure evil collides with Earth. Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg (Oldman), under the payroll of the Great Evil, hires the Mangalores, a slow-witted, shape-shifting, warrior-like alien race, who are also seeking out the four stones.
THE GOOD
Lets start with the obvious. The characters. Each and every person in this film just rocks. From the core cast of Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich, to the supporting core of Chris Tucker Gary Oldman and Ian Holm.
Bruno is basicly a futuristic John McLean with less German bank robbers after him. Which is fine. We love that version of Bruce. Milla is sexy and adorable, and her command over a language that doesn’t exist flows seamlessly from her lips.
Gary Oldman plays Zorg, the greedy mega corporate opportunist set on acquiring the stones which sets the task of fulfilling the phrophecy against ultimate evil astray. An awesome character driven by greed and his own ego.
Chris Tucker is amazing in this movie. Yeah, you heard me. Amazing. His DJ Radio Show host character “Ruby Rhod” is so over the top in personality and worshiping his own celebrity that you cant help but laugh at him when he squeals like a girl and is the most panic stricken character in the crisis.
Other characters like Zeus (Tom Lister Jr) from the WWF Wrestling film No Holds Barred as the Galactic President. Kim Chan once again plays an overly stereotyped Asian character selling noodles in his flying flotilla boat. As well as a number of known supermodels as flight attendants, McDonalds girl, etc.
The setting is cool. A futuristic New York has layered itself into a Coruscant of cityscape, with flying cars and wonderful technological advances, but life itself seems to mostly be the same. People sludge through their 9 to 5 ratrace just as they do today. It offered some cool and colourful costumes while still maintaining a state of familiarity.
The music is also pretty amazing. Very techno, and VERY much a part of the mood and feel. The music punctuates every step and motion without being so blatant about it. In one particular scene we get a tie in of The diva, Plavalaguna giving her techno opera performance which synchs perfectly with LeeLoo’s combat scene against the Mangalores.
Which also brings me to the editing and direction. There is a LOT going on in this film. To keep that all together and still tell a story with good pacing and delivery is a task on its own. Luc Besson makes this seem effortless and has multiple story angles running at the same time flipping back and forth between two scenes that are describing the same events from two different points of view. Incredible.
THE BAD
The scene where LeeLoo is “genetically reconstructed” always bothered me. Fascinating technology that we forgive because its the future but the idea that she was rebuilt based on some surviving cells and retains her memory and even hairstyle irks me. But that is just over analysing. It also bugged me that they had to toss in the moral dilemma “Why should I save the human race if you only seek to destroy each other” bit. Really not required, but I guess they felt that they should offer up a tiny bit of social commentary in an otherwise light adventure action sci-fi film.
I have heard other criticisms that the Mondoshawans created this supreme perfect being that couldn’t speak english, and knew nothing of Earth culture, but I recognize that as planned. Her purpose was to show up, meet the Priest, get the stones and perform the ritual at the pyramid in Egypt. She had no need to learn language (Her contact could understand the Divine language) and she wasn not required to interact with society as a whole. So I wasn’t bothered by that at all.
OVERALL
This is a perfect blend of action, adventure, comedy, and Sci-fi. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but its not so campy and silly that you don’t feel the tension of the combat scenes either.
Visually stunning, a fun adventure, and lovable characters. This is the only film I can say I liked Chris Tucker in (I tolerate him in Rush Hour, I like the movie and his interactions with Chan but not him on his own).
This also ranks high on my repeat viewers list. Some films I can watch over and over without getting tired of them and this is one of them.
Typically this is where we would write a “Out of 10″ rating, but since all of these Forgotten Friday reviews are going to be what I would already give a high rating to, I have made my own rating system.
TV – Make a point of watching it if you see it listed on TV.
Rent – Good enough to go out of your way to see it, but not enough to buy it.
Buy – So good. You will watch it again and again. Buy it!
So on a scale of TV, Rent or Buy I suggest BUY!
Just got this film on Netflix last night. Funny you mention it. Thouroughly enjoyed it!
The Fifth Element is an awesome film. I loved watching it when it first came out. You have a great blog!! We just watched The Land of the Lost starring Will Farrell (hope that’s right) and I’m not sure if you had a post about it?
Apologies for posting late on this, but I just had to make note of how great this movie is and how much I love it. Although I haven’t seen it in awhile, over the years I must have watched it a million times! This post brought back a lot of great memories about one of my favorite movies!
This is definitely a classic. Thanks Rodney for reminding us of this awesome film!
Hey DOUG is it possible for you to show us your dvd collection, in a few photos posted up here? i wanna see how large it is, please
Dude, there is no doug here.
One of my personal fav! love this show man!
I remember seeing this movie in the theater, and I remember being BLOWN AWAY by the sound. A great movie if you have a stellar home theater system!
I never had a chance to watch the movie. Hopefully, it’ll be given on t.v. at some point.
ahh… a classic, a throwback to my college day, the first time watching this movie back then and suddenly i fell in love with Leelo. So strong yet also fragile….. The point is this movie pure joy, it hold a special place in my heart, and the sci-fi elements are so unique it become more or less a standard on most recent sci-fi flicks. My fave quote “LEELODALLASMULTIPASS”… is priceless
i didnt bother reading all the comments but i think why rodney put this movie FF’S is cause its that good maybe u needed to be reminded of its awesomeness…i agree this movie was just plain cool as hell…..i seen this opening say at the movie theatres…i think i was like 18…loved the experiance….i hated how cris tucker seemd like a douchebag, but it turns out he really is a douchebag and this was him just being his douchebag self…bruce willis is just awesome.
Maybe it is “forgotten” because it is bad?
I’ve seen it a few times. Never thought it was a very good film. They clearly throw a TON of money at it though.
If I remember it had a really interesting opening sequence and then little after that. The characters are meh, the theme is meh, and it just doesn’t do anything for me.
And yet NOT bad. If you didnt care for it, fine. But dont try to pretend that it is bad for everyone else who enjoyed it.
And you completely missed the point of this feature.
How about the rasta guy who services the underside of the spaceship by blowtorching off those pod-things? “We need some HEAT mon!” Even the bit-part characters are classic!
Great review Rodney!!
I saw The Fifth Element twice when it came out at the theaters and whenever its showing on TV, I watch it all over again. The Fifth Element is a very original sci-fi movie, although Love being revealed as the fith element at the end seemed kind of cheesy. I also have trouble with Zorg’s motivation with stopping Leeloo from saving the world. Was he being promised eternal life by the big black apocalyptic space sphere? every time I watch this movie, I try to decipher Zorg’s motivation to let the universe end.
Once again Rod, great review.
“Sir are you classified as human?”
“Negative, I am a meat popsicle”
“Give me the caaash sh sh sh sh sh!”…The mugger in Corbin’s apartment is the best scene in the whole movie, I cant stop laughing.
Great movie, one of my favorites.
Zorg’s motivations are money. I am certain he thought “Mr Shadow” was just a collector of rare items. If he knew that giving him the stones would destroy the Earth (and all of his wealth and businesses) he wouldnt be doing it.
He thought he was gettin paid to acquire the stones. He didn’t know what the stones were about.
I remember the first time I saw this movie and was really disapointed until about ten minutes in, I thought back to a few lines and realized it was a spoof of Sci-Fi films while also remaining true to the genre. Granted at the time, I was stationed on Kessel (aka Okinawa), and had no access to the standard commercial movie marketing.
Sidenote: A few years later I met Bruce Willis in Hawaii while filming Tears of the Sun, and he’s probably the most genuine “celebrity” I can think of. He definitely doesn’t take himself seriously…
“skin is created by bombarding the body with slightly greasy solar atoms….”
You don’t have to even have an 8th grade knowledge of science to instantly identify how INTENTIONALLY ludicrous that explanation is. Like everything else in the movie, it’s meant to be funny in it’s sheer ridculousness. That includes all the science, moral dilemmas, ignorance of knowledge/language, etc…
The essence of the movie is to be pure silly & tug on simple emotions without the complications of things having to make sense. I think your “The Bad” section needs some rethinking.
No, my bad section needs nothing more. Because I didnt see it that way.
The scientist could have spoken Japanese all the way through that scene, there was no “science” to what they did. If that hung you up then I bet you hate all sci-fi as most science in science fiction makes no sense even when they pretend to describe it.
incredible… you missed my point & the point of that particular piece of dialogue i quoted completely.
There certainly was an attempt at science but it was INTENTIONALLY made to be ludicrous as another layer of funny just like many other things that the movie is built on – the point being: it doesn’t make sense, just accept it with a sense of humor as a plot device and move on with the story. In contrast, other science-fiction movies/stories/universes often try to take the science somewhat seriously (to varying degrees) to make things plausible. (ie. Star Trek, Star Wars, Gattaca, BSG, Solaris, Blade Runner, etc…)
There is a difference between (what’s known in the sci-fi industry as) “hard science fiction” and “science-fantasy”. Trying to fit The Fifth Element into the hard science fiction category even for a miniscule iota shows you are missing the a huge part of the comedy.
If you think this movie must adhere in principal to scientific logic, then you might as well get upset at the implausibility of sucking all the oxygen out of the atmosphere with a giant transforming space ship ala Spaceballs.
And just to make things even more simple/clear… it’s YOUR bad section that gets “hung up” on the science and logic… not mine. I’m happy with the movie the way it was intended.
um, actually you got the quote wrong, it’s “increasing” solar whatever, not “greasy”.
And it is MY bad section that says “But that is just over analyzing” as well.
If that is the worst I can say about a film is that I have to go out of my way to over analyze it to be bothered by it, then the movie works just fine.
Thanks for reading the whole post then arguing just to enforce my point.
um, actually you Ripper1776 got the quote wrong. The actual quote verbatim is
“Cells are bombarded with slightly greasy solar atoms which forces the body cells to react.”
what what may have not gotten it exactly perfect but what he said was basically correct.
Huh, sorry bout that, i just went back and rewatched the scene, over and over. And I guess he does say slightly greasy. It’s weird tho, the subtitles don’t say either, they say “The cells are bombarded by atoms which forces the body to react.”
Thanks for taking the time to revisit some GOOD movies!
Much appreciated!
One of my all time favorites!
this movie doesn’t belong to Forgotten Fridays. This movie is quite well known by most people.
I try not to be negative when I do talkbacks, cuz there is too much of that … but I would have to agree. This is a film that can hardly be forgotten – its that good.
Still love the segments though, Rodney!
I’m glad you did this review. I hated this movie the first and only time I saw it. But this will be a good one to rent and give a second chance. There are obviously a lot of people who loved it.
thanks for bringing it up
If you read the description of what a Forgotten Fridays is, I already said they could be movies you already love and havent seen in a while and maybe one that just needs reminding. You don’t get to decide what older films I review for this feature.
Galaxy Quest was my first FF review, and thats newer than this film. Its just for fun. Relax.
i think he’s just sayin’ that this movie is extremely popular. i see posters of it and everyone i know has heard of it. i’m down with it and all, but it does have quite a following. kinda like 12 monkeys; a lot of people love it but it’s sort of obscure…
yeah, i kinda agree with you now
How is this a forgotten film. Its amazing and its usually on a cable channel at least once a week. Love and own this movie.
Favorite scene is at the end where the Priests assistant (or whatever) screams…. “YES!!!!!!” “man whats wrong with you?!?!?!? I’M LEAVING.”
@ANTI-SEPTIC this was probably one of the last times Chris Tucker was actually funny…
I thought he was hilarious in the first two Rush Hour films.
As a fan of comic books, it is not really hard to become a fan of this movie. You can really see the visual style and influences by Jean Giraud (Moebius) and Jean-Claude Mézières, both are well known French Comic book artists who had a hand in this movie.
I still love this film even today and watch it whenever I am bored or looking for a quick escape. The chemistry between Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich is simply amazing as well.
Awesome Movie. I own the DVD and the Soundtrack.
Just a note:
So far, all the Forgotten Friday picks are available from the Netflix Watch Instanly (Roku). I find that interesting.
I BUY TOO. Classic Movie. LeLoo turned me into a man…
What i love the most about this movie is that my mom, my romcom loving mom, LOVES this movie. We came out of that thing imitating Ruby Rod during the hotel attack the whole way home, and she still does it!
“Corbin, what we gonna do? I don’t wanna die!”
But the love story feels shoehorned in and it never feels genuine. When he says that he loves her at the end, it’s supposed to be this big powerful moment, but it rings hollow.
leeloo dallas multipass!
milla = amazing.
i could have done with less chris tucker.
-like 100% less.
Word!….. that is the only drawback to this film, too much Chris Tucker is never a good thing.
ya but he acted just like his ego so in the long run we get the last laugh! jhahahaha
I absolutely LOVE this movie.
Nobody mentioned that the costumes are good because of one Mr. Jean-Paul Gaultier.
word.
and eve salvail is in it. she was a big gautier fav.
and tricky is in there too.
The Fifth Element will always have a special place in my heart. I quote the movie all the time. Absolutely love it. I think it’s kinda overlooked these days.
One of my favorite movies of all. It also breaks cliche(s)standard in the genre:
The main protagonist (Bruce) and antagonist never meet once and probably don’t know the other exists. They only share one scene together where Korben gets on an elevator and immediately Korg gets off the next elevator. Would Die Hard work if John and Hans never even met?
love the movie, seen it at least a dozen times.
love the rating system as well, reminds me of the michelin guide for food
1 star=very good, worth the time to take a chance
2 star=worth the detour
3 star=worth traveling just to eat it.
AWESOME movie.
One of the best. Great movie, costumes, and direction. Oh, and Leiloo? isn’t bad to look at either…
I loved the film the first time I saw it.
“MULTI-PASS!”
“Chiii-Kenn! Good!”
“We’re sending someone in to negotiate!”
The negotiation is one of the funniest moments in the film, trying to channel raiders of the lost ark a bit, eh?
Loved it!
One of my all time favorites, love this movie. I really like Chris Tucker in the movie too, this one and Friday is the only movies i really like him in.
What an awesome classic! I must have watched this movie 10+ times years ago. This is such a wonderfully strange film. I’ll have to dig it up again and watch it. Thanks for the reminder.