Valerian - Die Stadt der Tausend Planeten (Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets)
France/U.S.A. 2017

Opening 20 Jul 2017

Directed by: Luc Besson
Writing credits: Pierre Christin, Jean-Claude Mézières, Luc Besson
Principal actors: Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne, Clive Owen, Rihanna, Ethan Hawke

It’s the 28th century, and space Agents Valerian and Laureline (DeHaan and Delivingne) are on a special intergalactic mission to retrieve a very important item from the planet Kirian. The tricky thing: the place and its people are in another dimension, hidden to the eye without special visual support. With no real concept of just how important their cargo is, Valerian and Laureline return to headquarters, Alpha, the city of a thousand planets, with 17 million inhabitants from all corners of the universe. There, they receive new orders to get to the root of an unknown threat endangering Alpha and all its inhabitants.  When their Captain, Commander Arun Filitt (Owen), is kidnapped under very mysterious circumstances, they come closer to the truth of who or what is the real threat, and who really needs to be protected.

This intergalactic adventure blew my mind. The special effects, the visuals and depictions of what just seems to be truly possible in the years to come, made you feel like looking through time instead of 3D glasses. Though the story has its weaknesses and fails to surprise, and the lead actors have a hard time being convincing, the effects and ideas take over the steering wheel and make this movie nevertheless an unforgettable adventure: Valerian – the City of a Thousand Planets is my personal top sci-fi movie of the year. (Karen Eve Malinowski O’Shaughnessy)