It began with the ambition of starting a powerful franchise and in the end it ended up becoming one of the worst recent film failures.
There is films that are born with the potential to be great phenomena, but the history of cinema has taught us that they do not always succeed. An impressive budget destined to execute the best special effects or a promising cast and the best direction is of no use if you end up competing at the box office with some of the most anticipated releases of the year. And that is precisely what happened to the impressive science fiction adventure film Valerian and the city of a thousand planetswhich was released in 2017 under the direction of Luc Besson (Lucy) and with plans to start a powerful franchise and in the end it ended up becoming one of the worst recent film failures.
In the film, Valerian and Laureline are two special agents who are responsible for maintaining order throughout the universe. Their relationship is not romantic, but the seductive Valerian is looking for something more than a professional relationship with his partner, who always rejects him. In this context, they are sent to fulfill an important mission in the intergalactic city of Alpha, a metropolis in which thousands of different species coexist and, after centuries of peace and prosperity during which they have united their talents, technology and resources for the common good, now faces an unknown force that wants to seriously endanger the town and destroy it. Valerian and Laureline have less than 10 hours to find the threat and eliminate it.
Can see Valerian and the city of a thousand planets today open at 10:00 p.m. on the DTT channel Be Mad.
Valerian and the city of a thousand planets, although it was never a perfect film, it was more underrated than it deserved. Several things were wrong in the movie, but It was especially criticized for its lack of narrative strength, which was considered poor and uninteresting and in no way up to the impressive visual effects. who were at his service.
The matter could be briefly summarized in that the film had too much ambition. Luc Besson had proposed adapt the famous French comics Valérian and Laureline created by Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières with great plans for the future and few economic barriers, but the reality is that the comic series was not well known outside of France to attract the attention of viewers. However, in its favor was having a quite attractive cast led by Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne and completed by other well-known faces such as Clive Owen, Ethan Hawke and Rihanna, and also being able to have a Reported budget of around $200 million that allowed him to bring his great fantasies to the screen.
However, a bloated budget can be a double-edged sword and, in this case, it was. Although Valerian and the city of a thousand planets grossed 226 million in theaters, the figure was very far from reaching the point of profitability, causing great losses and placing it as a great failure. Of course, the poor result also ruined the plans to create a franchise.
With an average rating of 3.6 stars out of 5 according to readers of SensaCineYeah Valerian Had it obtained better results at the box office, it might have had the potential to fulfill its future plans, but with the box office and critics against it, there was nothing to do. Besidesthe science fiction film had to face fierce competitionstarting with Christopher Nolan, who at the same time released the impressive Dunkirk. The other two titles that did not let her raise her head were with Spider-Man: Homecomingthe solo debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker, and the end of the saga of Planet of the Apes with War for the Planet of the Apes.
“When the film limits itself to offering action scenes without any narrative ambition, solely to show off those glorious millions of euros budgeted, Valerian “stands as an unrepeatable experience, a brilliant plastic feast,” reads the 3-star review published by SensaCine. “A total and sensorial spectacle that you will enjoy more the more prejudices, logic and social conscience you leave aside.”
