| In the tradition of the perennial science-fiction
favorite, Blade Runner, The Fifth Element dazzles
with its blistering vision of the future. The movie, which stars
Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, and Gary Oldman, takes place in the
23rd century. The plot revolves around a disruptive alien force
which is terrorizing Earth by threatening to annihilate the planet
vis-à-vis a Death Star-like device.
Willis and other rogue earthlings get charged with locating the
one weapon that can stave off the aliens, something called the Fifth
Element. It turns out that the Fifth Element is actually a woman,
played by Jovovich, who can't speak. Along with this woman and a
cadre of characters (both good and bad), Willis pursues the four
stones necessary to activate the Fifth Element as a weapon and stop
the aliens.
As with space epics like 2001 (which predated the movie)
and Independence Day (which post-dated it), The Fifth
Element produces some truly stunning visual effects. The cacophonous
score, on-spot direction by Luc Besson, and cool digital effects
all make this movie a really fun ride. Bruce Willis, who's no stranger
to science fiction (he played the lead in Terry Gilliam's sci-fi
apocalyptic adventure, Twelve Monkeys, and the hero of the
movie Armageddon), does a serviceable job here as well.
One of the things that distinguishes The Fifth Element
from other movies in its genre is the script's sense of humor. Recalling
the quirky cynicism of Harrison Ford's Han Solo in the original
Star Wars, The Fifth Element's characters often produce
snappy, self-aware lines. All told, the movie was one of the summer
of 1997's most interesting flicks.
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