Overall Rating
  Awesome: 26.9%
Worth A Look: 42.69%
Average: 12.87%
Pretty Bad: 5.85%
Total Crap: 11.7%
8 reviews, 123 user ratings
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| Fifth Element, The |
by Brian McKay
"I have never wanted to be an Ace bandage so badly."

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THE FIFTH ELEMENT is not an acquired taste. You are either going to love or hate it from the get-go. Yes, on many levels it's silly and crappy. But on many others, it's just witty, whimsical, and balls-out crazy enough to work. It comes up shy of a five star rating . . . but just.The Fifth Element is a bizarre melange, part foreign surrealism, part sci-fi, part art-house, part fast-food pop culture. It's like Back to the Future meets Blade Runner meets twenty other films, yet it stands apart from all of them. It's a film you have to go with your gut on, because a logical debate in the "sucks" versus "rocks" vein will get you nowhere.
Director Luc Besson dreamed up a fanciful little dystopian future here, complete with miles-high urban sprawl, flying cars, annoying radio personalities, amusing alien baddies, McDonald's Fly-thru, and a simplistic "Evil is coming, we must find the talisman to destroy it" plot. It's not the main story that carries the film, but rather all of the little nuances and detours along the way. Between the stunning visual effects and a nearly naked Milla Jovovich (sporting an Ace bandage wrapping to grand effect), there is certainly no shortage of eye candy. Nor is there any lack of amusing and enjoyable performances from Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Brion James, and yes, even the hyper-annoying, squeaky, and effeminate Chris Tucker. Tucker's performance seems to be the linchpin on which many opinions about the film rest. Again, you will either find him hysterical, or find the desire to perforate him with many sharp implements.
Although some scenes are just a little too over the top (even for something as bizarro as this movie) and it starts to run out of steam toward the end, The Fifth Element has always been one of those films that I just have to watch when it comes on cable. There are so many enjoyable little scenes and nuances that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. For example: when Korben (Willis) is accosted by some hopped-up robber toting a big gun and who keeps insisting "Gimme the casssssshhhhhhhh". It's a completely pointless, but hilarious scene. The whole movie is pretty much pointless, really, when you think about it. But goddamn it, it's fun. Even if you get tired of listening to it, there's always something visually interesting going on. Everything from the visual effects to the costume design seems to shout out like a precocious child. "Look at me!"THE FIFTH ELEMENT is the ultimate in cotton candy movies. Completely devoid of depth, complexity or substance, but oh so pretty to look at and always tasty. Yet it's just smart enough that you won't have to feel it can only be justified as a guilty pleasure. It mu5t be seen!
link directly to this review at http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=328&reviewer=258 originally posted: 02/26/03 03:48:14
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This film is available for download or online viewing at CinemaNow.com For more in the CinemaNow.com series, click here.
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USA 09-May-1997 (PG-13) DVD: 11-Jan-2005
UK 06-Jun-1997 (PG) DVD: 25-Oct-1999
Australia 15-May-1997 (PG)
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