From its awe-inspiring opening montage, Luc Besson’s Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets immediately immerses its audience in a brilliant, idiosyncratic sci-fi universe—one that’s unlike anything we’ve seen for 20 years, since Besson’s last brilliant, idiosyncratic sci-fi universe, in The Fifth Element. Those of us who loved The Fifth Element will get exactly what we’ve been missing with Valerian. It’s a delight.
If you’ve read the comics Valerian is based on—text-heavy, 1970s French sci-fi exploration comics that Besson loved as a child—be prepared for Valerian to stray heavily. In the comics, Laureline (Cara Delevingne) is a French woman from the 11th century who radically advances to become the equal of space adventurer Valerian (Dane DeHaan) in the space of a few issues.