User reviews

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!

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.

Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich star in this wonderful sci-fi tale. Chock full of killer performances and excellent effects.

Korben Dallas is your average ordinary New York taxi driver. Fresh out of the military, unlucky in love and this close to losing his job. One day the ultimate fare literally falls into his lap as Leeloo enters his life via the roof of his cab. Leeloo it seems was genetically manipulated to be the ultimate weapon against pure evil but her beauty and butt-kicking hide a more fragile nature that Dallas and a host of others will have to step up and help her save humanity.

This amazing sci-fi adventure from Luc (Leon) Besson has a little something for everyone. Beauty (the gorgeous Jovovich with orange hair even), action and gun-play, excellent acting, amazing visual effects, romance, creative sets and costume design, dynamic and interesting music and a mildly annoying but funny Chris Tucker. You name it…this film has it in spades. 5th Element is hands down one of the best science fiction films ever.

I've seen it many times and always want more. I highly recommended it.

I think The Fifth Element is the movie I have seen the most... It is a perfect mixture of action and comedy, science-fiction, suspense and romance. Set in a not so far future, the eternal battle between good and evil is shown to us in an extravagant setting. Flying cars, aeroplanes that go at the speed of light, weird creatures and ugly aliens are only a few things that are present during this film. The story has never been seen before : Good has only one weapon to defeat evil; it is composed of four stones representing the four element (water, earth, fire and air) and a perfect creature. These five elements have to be united before the forces of evil arrive to earth. But evil has found help and the stones have disappeared. Bruce Willis (one of the best action actors of our time), Milla Jovovich, Ian Holm and Gary Oldman make the suspense even more intense. Chris Tucker is incredibly funny and ads a lot to the comic side of the film. The story is extremely imaginative and is, in my opinion, one of Luc Besson's best. I have never seen anything else like it. The costumes, designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier, are unbelievably imaginative and fun. They are a big part of the extravagance and originality of the movie. The score, by Eric Serra (one of my favourites) is simply a work of art. And last but not least, the special effects are absolutely excellent, adding to the quality of the movie. If you are looking for action and a good laugh, this is the film to see. But the actors are not the only things that make this film worth seeing. Click here

Most sci-fi films try to break new ground with special effects and visual eye candy, but The Fifth Element created a whole new concept in the genre: the art-action science fiction.

While this film has many flaws, particularly in the flow of the plot, visually, it surpasses most sci-fi films I have ever seen. Not even Planet of the Apes (2001) could compete with this film's cinematography. I firmly believe 1997 was a great year for this concept of film, considering the highly visual Alien Resurrection came out the same year. Hopefully, some of the more modern sci-fi films will encompass some of the visual ideals this film set forth.

After making heavy movies like La Femme Nikita and Leon, it is somewhat of a departure for Luc Besson to do this comic, pulp, sci-fi film The Fifth Element. Looking at his work now, with such high-octane humor as the Transporter series, among others, (written by Besson, but not directed), it doesn't seem that out of place. He just must have decided to only direct his more serious fare and leave the fun stuff to others. However, The Fifth Element is by no means a slight film without a fan base. As far as sci-fi goes, this is a very capable installment. With its mythology, creatures, action, and special effects, the movie has everything going for it. The humor that's infused just makes it better, vaulting it through genres and making it accessible to almost everyone who gives it a try.

Like most of its ilk, the story revolves around an evil force about to devour Earth and the rest of life itself as it increases in size and power with each influx of destruction and hate thrown at it. Every opportunity to blow it up only makes it stronger. Through a series of fortunate/ unfortunate happenings, (depending on who you are aligning with), we have the paths crossing of a priest who holds the answers for survival, an ex-military, cab driver bent on having some fun and excitement, a strange woman from another place at the center of it all, an evil mercenary out for money, and the government of the galaxy trying to save face in front of inevitable extermination. It is good versus evil traveling through space in order to either shed light or death out to the universe as victory.

In what is a nice little introduction to the myth of the fifth element that will unite with the more common four to wipe out evil, we learn of those who keep the secret of its location. We don't quite know if these aliens are good or not until later, but we do find out the impetus for their coming to the temple on display. A cut forward in time introduces us to the president of the galaxies, (played in what would seem to be horrible casting, but ends up being pretty good with Tommy "Tiny" Lister, Jr.), and our head priest in the guarding of the truth, Ian Holm. Holm explains what the dark force coming after them is and goes on the quest to find the fifth element and her four stones needed to combat it. This supreme being, played wonderfully by Milla Jovovich with a childlike glee and discovery, falls into the unwitting hands of cabbie Korben Dallas—Bruce Willis at his sarcastic bad-ass best. Willis must join with Holm and Jovovich on a mission to recover the stones and find a way to save the world.

A lot of the success lies with the man behind it all, Luc Besson. His script is made up of a pretty solid plot line as far as the world destruction goes. Everything makes sense and is explained in a way to not bore us, but instead in tidbits culled from the numerous characters running about it this singularly unique landscape. The art direction is spectacular and for being a decade old, still has some nice special effects that stand up. I've always been a proponent for prosthetics, when able, at the expense of computer graphics. Reactions are always better from actors who have something real to play off of and the lighting and environments just become more realistic. Even so, when computers are used, the effects are more subtle than flashy and never take away from the story that is being told. No matter what spectacle is on display, the script is what is important.

All the personalities on display also lead to much of the greatness that The Fifth Element has to offer. Bruce Willis is the king of this kind of role. His quips and rapport with those around him are priceless. Other standouts are Chris Tucker, in an early role for him, and the great Gary Oldman. Tucker takes loud and obnoxious to a whole new level, but it works flawlessly. His radio DJ has no shame when it comes to working a crowd or chasing the ladies, but his utter fear of danger is hilarious. As for Oldman, I have to believe Besson just said create something fresh. This villain is a pastiche of so many crazy components. His futuristic hair, complete with plastic half shield, is plain weird; the southern accent and buck teeth look is just the right amount of hillbilly; and the disposition of greed and ambivalence is perfect for a bad guy. When he explains how destruction allows all the little machines that man created to finally have work cleaning up the mess, it's fantastic. The real beauty, though, is that no matter how many strong lead roles are here, the little guys steal scenes as well. Singer Tricky is great as Oldman's "Right Arm" and Mathieu Kassovitz partakes in one of the best scenes in the film when he attempts to mug Willis at his apartment.

Even with all its camp and fun, Besson keeps it all grounded in drama as any fantasy tale does. He has a real vision for aesthetics and has changed his scope often as he goes from film to film. From the mobster/corrupt cop world of New York, to the countryside of war with Joan of Arc, he never pigeonholes himself in a style. I am still holding out hope that his newest, Angel-A, with all its black and white, stylish noir feel, will hit the big screens here in Buffalo. It will be a real shame if the rumors are true and the completion of his children tale, Arthur and the Minimoys, will be the final work by him as a director.

In the colorful future, a cab driver (Bruce Willis) unwittingly becomes the central figure in the search for a legendary cosmic weapon to keep Evil and Mr Zorg (Gary Oldman) at bay.

Does this film get better with age? I recall seeing it around the time it came out, and while not necessarily disliking it, thinking it was a rather stupid movie. But seeing it again now (April 2015), it seems to me much more clever than I initially thought (though still with a high degree of stupidity).

Some of this just should not exist. The clothing and hairstyles are silly and distract from the film's strengths. The aspect of the mother could also be removed. But really, there is a very clever script under all this. The alliances and connections between the military, the cab company, the bad guys, the religion... it is surprisingly complex and yet still rather simple. Quite clever.

This is a great movie. It isn't your typical same alien vs. human movie where there is blood everywhere, and the humans win right before they've thought it was the end. It is much more interesting. The story has love vs. evil in a whole new way, and there's a lesson to be learned through it.

Honestly, I didn't really care about the plot all that much. The imagination and creativity is awesome! I love the colors and the ideas they came up with, especially how the design of the city. The futuristic clothing is cool too. The only thing I was disappointed in was the enemy aliens. They looked a little too artificial.

My favorite thing about the whole movie was the music. It went from techno to opera to jazz, and to all over. I loved the music, partially because they used Engima and Vangelis. Many people are like, "what the heck was that?" when they hear the music, but it fits the movie perfectly and leaves you with a feeling more than a theme. I like the randomness of the music, it works well with the quirkiness of the movie.

This movie is a somewhat forgettable, but fun sci-fi stylized and pleasing action flick, with Bruce Willis at his typical 90-s action star performance and charm, and not to forget the charms of Milla Jovovich as an untameable feminine beast of alien origin. That, and cute, cool (literately fogging with frost) flying cars and some state of the day special effects. In short, if you want some light sci-fi action fun from the 90-s, this is an OK movie for you.

22 years later and this film is still next level compared to the best films today, even today it still plays like a new blockbuster and is excellent entertainment. Comedy, action and sci-fi are regularly overlaid on top of each other, the volume of content this film manages to squeezes into ~120 minutes is totally amazing and waste scenes are non-existent. The comedy is actually unique and funny and it mixes well with the action. The sci-fi is great and the view of the future is still intriguing (sleeper cells in airplanes, apartments with vertical storage and reconfiguration, instant makeup devices, instant food devices, flying cars, trains that ride vertically up super tall skyscrapers, smart rifles, nuclear powered jetliners, medical devices that can reconstruct human bodies, etc). The acting is great and the characters really come across as real. The action is excellent and is greatly enriched by the previously mentioned overlays.

This should really be taught as an example in film school of how to do movies right.

The Fifth Element is weird, wacky, creative and cheesy as hell. It has one of the most ham fisted love stories I've ever seen, a truly ridiculous lore and over acting out the wazzoo.

But this film's boundless creativity, art direction, costumes and performances really sell it. I wanted to know more about this film every second. I appreciate something like this coming from a true auteur like Besson, with his weird edits and cinematography accentuating the wonderous tone.

Not for everyone, but I still think everyone should at least give it a chance.

About 250 years in the future, ex-soldier Korben Dallas (Willis) is working as a taxi driver when a woman comes crashing through his roof. It turns out that this woman, Leeloo (Jovovich) is actually the Fifth Element, a supreme being who, when joined with four ancient sacred stones representing wind, fire, water and earth, can fight evil. Which is lucky, since Evil is coming their way in the form of a big pulsating planet, assisted by the impossibly rich tycoon Zorg (Oldman), who is trying to locate the four stones so that Evil can prevail. After teaming up with a priest named Father Vito Cornelius (Holm) to find the stones, they travel to another planet on behalf of the Federation of the United States, where they meet up with various alien life forms who want to help or harm them, and their most frightening encounter of all, radio DJ Ruby Rhod. (Tucker)

Truthfully, I am conflicted when it comes to my ultimate outlook on this film. Visually, it was completely captivating. The set designs, (layers of air traffic in the streets of New York, going up hundreds of stories, a floating Central Park) the costumes (Gaultier, with his usual S&M-looking couture) and the colorful hair and makeup were fantastic. A lot of the contraptions (a mask that instantly does your makeup, a cigarette machine that dispenses cigarettes with increasingly longer filters for those who are trying to quit smoking) were clever and entertaining, and the overall style of the film was impressive. There were certainly some things that were really odd to me that don't really warrant explanation, I still scratched my head about, (like what was the deal with Gary Oldman sounding exactly like Billy Bob Thornton>) but ultimately chalked up to eccentricity.

There wasn't even anything universally wrong with the script; I thought that it was a very basic, but fun story, and I liked the fact that notorious badass Willis wasn't so much living up to his reputation until we approached the end of the film. Unfortunately, I became more and more irritated with some of the "humor" (mostly slapstick type things; people saying, "W-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-what do you mean, a BOMB?!" and the like… I think I heard "W-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w" at least thirty times throughout the film) that was being presented. After viewing the film, I discovered that Besson had actually written this screenplay when he was in high school, something that is slightly impressive, but actually explains a lot in terms of the goofiness, I think. The other major irritant was Chris Tucker. I completely understand that his character was supposed to be way out there (kind of a cross between Prince and Grace Jones) but I think that the weird costumes, hair and mannerisms could have sufficed. Instead I had flashbacks to sitting in the theater watching "Star Wars: Episode I" and literally wanting to get up and hit something after listening to Jar-Jar Binks screech and prattle on. Tucker's high-pitched voice and utter lack of charm did not win any points with me, and if anything, he made the film lose at least one point on my ratings scale. Other than the aforementioned things, there wasn't a whole lot to dislike about "The Fifth Element" but there wasn't really anything to get excited about either. If this film didn't have the obnoxious Chris Tucker in it, I would consider it to be a great popcorn flick. Instead, even while just mentally flashing back to some of his scenes, I begin to feel like a drill is nearing my ear. However, because the film was fairly enjoyable other than his scenes, I give it a 5/10.

--Shelly

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!

I remember when 'The Fifth Element' first came out in the cinema in 1997. I saw it twice. It was awesome. It was only really after its release did the narrative begin breaking through (the ways thing did prior to the internet!) that it wasn't 'very good.' And yet everyone I spoke to loved it. I worked in a video rental store in 1998. It was still a major title and the public seemed to love it, too.

Over time I realised that, despite critics seemingly delighting in pulling it apart, the general public thought it was great. They say there are only about ten different story types and that every film is just a variation on the way each is told. With that in mind, 'The Fifth Element' isn't anything particularly original in terms of the actual story - in the distant future, a giant planet of 'pure evil' is hurtling towards the Earth preparing to wipe all us humans out. The only thing that can destroy it is a being of pure goodness (Milla Jovovich before she hit the big time in the 'Resident Evil' franchise), who just so happens to be in the care of a wise-cracking New York taxi driver (Bruce Willis when he still put effort into his performances). However, what makes the film stand out is the way its presented.

If ever a film 'built a world' it was here. The special effects may look just ever-so-slightly dated today, they were amazing for the time and I think most people will still enjoy them for what they are. You'll see New York in the future with mile high skyscrapers and flying queues of cars gridlocked around their peaks (beating the 'Star Wars' prequels by a few years!). You'll see a variety of futuristic settings and technology, presented as if they are just everyday items that everyone uses. I hear fashion designer Jean Paul Gauteur (spelling!) personally designed every costume - right from the stars' own wardrobe to the background characters to give every person that 'space-age feel.'

I've already said that Bruce Willis was still an A-list star when he made this. His once natural charm and endearing smirk, mixed with wise-cracks and macho heroics worked well here with Milla Jovovich's faux naive persona which underlies her true mystical powers. But they're just the icing on the cake. 'The Fifth Element' is practically an ensemble cast with villainous Gary Oldman as the bad-guy and Ian Holm as the well-meaning priest who's on hand to help out. Maybe the reason there was a certain amount of hate directed towards the film was down to Chris Rock. If you ever see some online list of 'Most Annoying Characters in Films' you'll probably find him as 'Number 2' (only pipped by Jar Jar Binks from 'Star Wars'). Yes, he's pretty obnoxious - but he's supposed to be! You're supposed to be irritated by his antics and he only comes into the story in the last third, so - personally - if you really can't stand him that much, I'm sure he should ruin the whole film for you.

Basically, 'The Fifth Element' has everything an enduring film should have. It has action, romance, sci-fi (if you're into that!), adventure, sets, special effects, costumes, humour, brilliant direction (the way characters in one scene answer a seemingly unrelated question a different character had just posed is very nice and adds to the quirky feel very well) and - perhaps most importantly - if has all that without needing to be 'adult' in content. It was rated 'PG' here in the UK and I think it's a film that all the family can enjoy together. Better still... it never received a sequel or remake (to date, 2020!), therefore leaving this as a perfectly self-contained little gem of sci-fi brilliance.

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.

The fifth element tries to combine action, science fiction and humour in a single stylish package. Unfortunately it is not equally successful in all of its endeavours. The plot (about an attempt to reunite four missing stones representing the four elements of earth, air fire and water with a mysterious person representing the fifth element) is full of B-Grade science fiction cliches and frequently strays into the implausible. The action sequences are more successful and occasionally become involving.

The idea of leavening the mix with humour was appealing in concept but, in execution dissolved into stupidity on too many occasions (especially with respect to a very camp talk show host), and jarred with the rest of the movie.

Overall, an average movie, although fans of Bruce Willis may rate it slightly higher.

This sci-fi fantasy had a lot of ingredients to be great, a wonderful concept, Luc Besson who directed the brilliant Leon:The Professional and Gary Oldman who is one of the best underrated actors working today being just a few.

The Fifth Element is a hugely imaginative and enjoyable film, with only Chris Tucker's annoying character and performance and the occasional lack of flow in the plot being its sole drawbacks. I adored the concept and the story even with the lack of flow never failed to intrigue.

The script and satire are fun and slick, the visuals are breathtaking and unusual especially the amazing Big Apple effects with honourable mention to the camp trip to the resort planet Fhoston Paradise and there are plenty of thrills and imagination in the atmosphere to be had.

Besson's direction is excellent, Eric Serra's music is atmospheric and jaunty and the characters are fun. As is the acting, Bruce Willis is charismatic, Milla Jovovich is beautiful and Gary Oldman is the personification of haute-couture corruption. In conclusion, a great sci-fi fantasy. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Still amazing after 25 years! By far Luc Besson best feature in my opinion. The story holds up, the acting and even the effects look pretty good by todays standards. Amazingly, the jokes are still funny and nothing about this has aged poorly. A classic action, funny one liners and great fun all round!

This is one wild science-fiction ride that is generally fun to watch until Chris Tucker enters the film near the end. It's fun, in large part, because of the great special-effects, excellent 5.1surround sound and likable hero.

Storywise, it's a little too far out for my theological tastes but you can't take anything of this seriously. However, calling Milla Jovovich's character ("Leeloo") a "supreme being" is not only blasphemous but just plain annoying.

However, if you enjoy wild effects, strange characters and a very fast-moving, action-packed film you'll like this, even if the story is stupid.

Bruce Willis does a nice job with his low-key role of "Korben Dallas," an average type of Joe who drives a cab in futuristic New York City. Jovovich looks a little like Uma Thurman, facially. She's interesting to watch with hr looks, strange dress and strange language. Gary Oldman plays his normal wacked-out character. In this one, he has to sports the world's worst hairdo ever seen on film! Tucker, who plays a RuPaul-type DJ called "Ruby Rhod," and he grates on your nerves, big-time. I would have enjoyed this movie, especially the last part without him and his many OMGs and flaming hysterics. He almost single-handedly ruined the film.

A friend of mine once observed that the real problem with The Fifth Element is that it wasn't in French; that had Luc Besson opted to make it in his native tongue all would have been well. He may have a point, but it's still a terribly overoptimistic analysis.

The Fifth Element has to be one of the silliest films ever made: the barking mad plot, the comedy villain, the comedy "bad race" of Org, the crazy costumes, the crazy music, the Blade Runner with laughs script, the sci-fi icons (like Ian Holm and Brion James). It should be terrible; it is terrible! But it's also marvellous. Marvellously camp, marvellously entertaining and great fun. The difference between this and Big Bruce's Armageddon is that Fifth Element is in on the joke – in a very in-your-face way, but it is. Contrast near-identical Bruce lines in each film (the "why d'ya call me" line). In Armageddon, the question is taken seriously, in Fifth Element they play it for the joke it is "firstly, out of all of your unit, you're the only one qualified to fly all these space-craft" - cue the unrolling of an improbably long list - "secondly, of all of your unit, you're the only one still alive".

This is The Mummy in Space – two hours of almost unrelenting silliness punctuated with some wonderful pastiches – the best and the most hilarious being Chris Tucker's Ruby Rhod – if you didn't realise he's supposed to be Prince it might be classified as ridiculous (what am I saying? It is ridiculous, but it's also bloody marvellous).

The genius in this film is really in the casting. Butch Bruce, when left to his own devices, is capable of producing high grade camembert, and once again delivers on that. It's just that here it's so perfect. Ian Holm seems to be rehashing his role in the borrowers rather than Alien. Gary Oldman seems to have been pinching ideas (and costumes) from Max Von Sydow in Flash Gordon. And then there is LeeLoo, the films one original creation, who is played majestically by Milla Jovovich.

If it strikes you that I like this film rather too much; well, I agree. I mean, I know this film is trash but it is, nevertheless, the kind of trash people put in a gallery and call art. Surprisingly re-watchable. 6/10.

The first third of the film is good and you think it's a decent sci-fi/action movie you'll enjoy. Then the Ruby Rhod (Chris Tucker) character is introduced and it's downhill into cliché from then on. Such a shame as the character is completely unnecessary to the plot and without his ever present shrill campness that only a teeny mind would find amusing, and then surely for only 60 seconds, the film would be much better.

Plus points, Bruce Willis in laconic form, nice glimpses into the future, like the Chinese Takeaway, Milla Jovovich and Ian Holm are also well cast and add to the film.

The Fifth Element is another fine example of the filmmaking talents of Luc Besson. Luc Besson, a creative genius and the director of classic films such as The Big Blue, Nikita and Leon (The Professional) has returned to the genre that started his filmmaking career, sci-fi. In The Fifth Element Luc Besson realises his life long ambition to make a film based on a story he thought of while still at school, Zaltman Bleros. Writing and directing the film, he skillfully mixes humour with action and amazing visual effects that put The Fifth Element in a class of it's own. Stunning performances are put forward by Milla Jovovich, Bruce Willis, Ian Holm, Chris Tucker and Gary Oldman, who returns to work with Luc Besson after playing Norman Stansfield in Leon. The Fifth Element show us how well comedy, action and romance can be put together. Overlooked at the Academy Awards, Luc Besson won the Cesar for Best Director at Cannes in 1998 for The Fifth Element. Simply, an excellent film, 10/10.

Talk about love at first sight.

This is one of those movies where if you were lucky enough to see it first-run, you did not really appreciate it at the time.

It holds up very well. And gets better with subsequent viewings (As does MS. Jovovich who went on to do a string of very memorable sci fi flicks, and one drama where, believe it or not, she played an aspiring wedding singer) Massive (truly massive) talent in front of and behind the camera. Luc Besson in front (crazy as a loon but boy can he write scripts) and Willis/Oldman in front.

For the day, the special effects were top notch.

There a joyful innocence about the film which was rare at the time, and even rarer today.

See it once. See it often. It'll make you smile

At first, I didn't know what to make of THE FIFTH ELEMENT. Much of it was corny; some of it was just stupid. But when I stopped taking the movie so serious, I really started to enjoy it. I thought it was a very fun movie.

THE FIFTH ELEMENT is about an evil force coming to destroy the world. Five elements are needed to destroy the evil force and save the Earth. Four of them are stones and one of them is a beautiful woman named Leeloo (Milla Jovovich), who is absolutely "perfect". A priest named Cornelius (Ian Holm) seeks the elements to try to save the world while the military sends a the retired Major Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) to find the elements and stop a bunch of alien bounty hunter-like bad guys and a very evil man (and of course very rich) man who is under the employment of the evil force named Zorg (Gary Oldman).

And of course, there is the insane but loved radio DJ Ruby Rhod (Chris Tucker) who gets trapped in the middle of this whole thing and becomes the comic relief of the movie, even though this movie really does not need comic relief. At first you will probably find him annoying, but he will grow on you. At least, this happened to me.

The acting is fair, but nothing special. Chris Tucker does a good job as the nutcase radioman, and Ian Holm does a pretty good job as the priest set out to save the planet. This was a very different type of role for Gary Oldman. He was still a bad guy, of course, but it was a much more comical part. It surely wasn't his best work, but it was still OK. Bruce Willis did a great job playing his part, and Milla Jovovich was excellent as the sexy but strong fifth element.

The special effects were fantastic. The story to this movie is nothing big, but like I said the main purpose of this movie is for the viewer to have fun. Don't expect to do much thinking and just enjoy yourself and I'm sure you'll like this movie.