Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) (1 Viewer)

[Tino]

So those who went to see it, we're your theaters sold out? A sign it might have legs.

With a $16 million weekend I doubt any shows were sold out.

Checking my local AMC tonight's 8:40 PM Dolby Cinema showing has sold about 25 seats. Not very encouraging.

 

[TonyD]

So those who went to see it, we're your theaters sold out? A sign it might have legs.

You know there was no sellouts. Why would you ask that?

 

[Tino]

You know there was no sellouts. Why would you ask that?

And you know Alf. Why would you ask that?

 

[Edwin-S]

So those who went to see it, we're your theaters sold out? A sign it might have legs.

Not where I live, but I went to a 22:00 hour showing and those hardly ever sell out.

I went to 19:30 showing of Dunkirk. That was a mistake. It wasn't sold out, but it was packed enough that I couldn't sit in my preferred seating in the dead middle of the theatre or as close to that as possible. I should have gone to the late showing of that film too. Probably would have had a better choice of seats.

 

[Alf S]

I didn't realize they tossed Rhianan in this..most were not kind to tossing her in the mix.

"It really is that bad"

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life...s-valerian-reviews-rotten-tomatoes/499095001/

At least odds are good they will be #1 in something this summer..perhaps in past decade.

 

[DavidMiller]

So those who went to see it, we're your theaters sold out? A sign it might have legs.

Nope, but went to a 5pm showing and it was beautiful here so... I would say there was maybe 30 people in it.

 

[Tino]

I didn't realize they tossed Rhianan in this..most were not kind to tossing her in the mix.

"It really is that bad"

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life...s-valerian-reviews-rotten-tomatoes/499095001/

At least odds are good they will be #1 in something this summer..perhaps in past decade.

It's Rihanna.

Jeez Alf get with the times. I know. You never heard of her right?

 

[DavidMiller]

Hey it had a cameo by Rutger Hauer in it. That alone is the worth the price of admission.

 

[Malcolm R]

Most predictions were for a weekend between $15-20M, so it seems to be meeting expectations. As noted many times, it'll be the international box office that determines whether or not this is a hit. And given the way it was financed, the bar for break-even is quite low in each territory. Each distributor merely needs to gross enough to cover their acquisition costs in order to avoid a loss. Total exposure by producer EuropaCorp is reportedly only $20M. Besson has said the threshold to consider a possible sequel is $350M worldwide.

From Forbes.com:

In documents I have seen, the estimated final net cost after tax credits will come in at $150 million. [EuropaCorp CEO Marc] Shmuger says, “The movie is now completed and ready to be delivered to partners around the world. We benefited from French rebates for shooting at our facilities in Paris, and the New Zealand and Canadian rebates for work we did in those places. In sum, our financial exposure after equity financing and foreign sales from our many partners around the world is less than 10% of the budget. In other words, the cost to EuropaCorp to mount the largest European production ever made, the largest independently-produced non-studio production ever made, the dream project of the company’s founder-- the total cost to the company is not $200 million or $150 million, but under $20 million of financial exposure.

 

[Edwin-S]

A critic who desperately tries to bring in a racial and/or cultural controversy where there isn't one is not worth listening to. The same goes for any critic that thinks every Sci-fi movie or character must be written in terms of Star Wars in order to be good or worthy. No the Valerian character in this film did not have to be like a sexy young Han Solo. Besson wasn't making a Star Wars film, so he didn't need a version of Han Solo in his film.

Apparently, to satisfy "film critcs" now every Sci-fi film has to be a copy of Star wars. Now they actually criticize a film maker for not creating derivative characters. Besson's love of this material may have been a little too close, making it hard for him to kill his babies, similar to Peter Jackson and Middle Earth, but at least he tried to make his own vision, not George Lucas's.

Edit: corrected some typos created by auto fill.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Guys...c'mon.

No remarks about other members, okay?

Stay on topic.

 

[TonyD]

deleted

 

[Edwin-S]

Most predictions were for a weekend between $15-20M, so it seems to be meeting expectations. As noted many times, it'll be the international box office that determines whether or not this is a hit. And given the way it was financed, the bar for break-even is quite low in each territory. Each distributor merely needs to gross enough to cover their acquisition costs in order to avoid a loss. Total exposure by producer EuropaCorp is reportedly only $20M. Besson has said the threshold to consider a possible sequel is $350M worldwide.:

I'm hoping he makes that number. I'd like to see a second one, but wit a lighter touch than this one had. I was kind of surprised at how flaccid the humour was considering how sharp it was in TFE. He doesn't need to recreate TFE but should go back to some of the inventiveness that film had in terms of humour and BGM.

 

[Malcolm R]

Well, he also had two comedic actors in TFE with Chris Tucker and Bruce Willis. I'm not sure anyone in Valerian has similar comedic skill.

 

[TJPC]

I just returned from Valarian. I have been trying to figure out how to describe it.

Imagine if you take all the species and worlds you have learned about in all the Star Wars movies and put them in one movie, including Jar Jars species.

The special effects and 3D are Avitar quality, but the plot is very superficial and weak. It is also hard to care about the two principals who seem far too young for their parts.

 

[Edwin-S]

I can see criticism of the story as.valid, but not their ages as agents. What they are doing isn"t an old man or woman's game.

People.younger than them have experienced real war.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I can see criticism of the story as.valid, but not their ages as agents. What they are doing isn"t an old man or woman's game.

People.younger than them have experienced real war.

Yup - DeHaan is 31, Delavingne is nearly 25 - it's not like they're teens.

Saw this 3D today and thought it was a mess, but a mostly entertaining mess.

I admired the visual ambition of the film and Besson often created intriguing alien worlds, but the visual effects for the alien lifeforms tended to be terrible. I never vaguely believed any of them actually existed - they all looked like the computer creations they were,

I thought DeHaan and Delavingne were competent in their roles but they shared little chemistry and never could elevate the thin parts that existed on the page. While they didn't hurt the film, they didn't help it either.

Much of the time I felt like Besson made a vague reworking of "Fifth Element". "Valerian" really feels like a strong spiritual cousin to the 1997 movie, and they share more than a few plot elements too. I wouldn't call "Valerian" an actual remake of "Fifth Element", but they're too close for my comfort.

The story really is a mess, though. "Valerian" needed a long scene toward the end to explain everything to us, and that's a major flaw I can accept "wrap-up" sequences like that in mysteries because it's part of the fun for the viewer to try to piece out the elements as they appear.

That shouldn't have been the case with "Valerian", where it often seems awfully unclear who's doing what to who and why. The movie comes across largely as a nearly random collection of sequences that kinda sorta point in a particular direction but it's unclear what that direction is until they explain everything at the end.

All that and a ridiculously pointless appearance from Rihanna!

Even with all those problems, I found some entertainment here - more entertainment than such a flawed movie had a right to deliver. It's a movie that fails to live up to its ample potential but it's still a solid "C+"...

 

[Johnny Angell]

Yup - DeHaan is 31, Delavingne is nearly 25 - it's not like they're teens.

Saw this 3D today and thought it was a mess, but a mostly entertaining mess.

I admired the visual ambition of the film and Besson often created intriguing alien worlds, but the visual effects for the alien lifeforms tended to be terrible. I never vaguely believed any of them actually existed - they all looked like the computer creations they were,

I thought DeHaan and Delavingne were competent in their roles but they shared little chemistry and never could elevate the thin parts that existed on the page. While they didn't hurt the film, they didn't help it either.

Much of the time I felt like Besson made a vague reworking of "Fifth Element". "Valerian" really feels like a strong spiritual cousin to the 1997 movie, and they share more than a few plot elements too. I wouldn't call "Valerian" an actual remake of "Fifth Element", but they're too close for my comfort.

The story really is a mess, though. "Valerian" needed a long scene toward the end to explain everything to us, and that's a major flaw I can accept "wrap-up" sequences like that in mysteries because it's part of the fun for the viewer to try to piece out the elements as they appear.

That shouldn't have been the case with "Valerian", where it often seems awfully unclear who's doing what to who and why. The movie comes across largely as a nearly random collection of sequences that kinda sorta point in a particular direction but it's unclear what that direction is until they explain everything at the end.

All that and a ridiculously pointless appearance from Rihanna!

Even with all those problems, I found some entertainment here - more entertainment than such a flawed movie had a right to deliver. It's a movie that fails to live up to its ample potential but it's still a solid "C+"...

I haven't seen the movie yet, only previews. All of the aliens have seemed quite good to me. Is it possible that when you see something that can't be real, you asssume it's imperfect?

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I haven't seen the movie yet, only previews. All of the aliens have seemed quite good to me. Is it possible that when you see something that can't be real, you asssume it's imperfect?

Nope - I just think the CG aliens look awful. I can accept full CG creatures when they're done well - these aren't...

 

[Sam Posten]

http://www.techradar.com/news/luc-besson-presents-techradar