Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
In the 28th century, Valerian and Laureline are special operatives charged with keeping order throughout the human territories. On assignment from the Minister of Defense, the two undertake a mission to Alpha, an ever-expanding metropolis where species from across the universe have converged over centuries to share knowledge, intelligence, and cultures. At the center of Alpha is a mysterious dark force which threatens the peaceful existence of the City of a Thousand Planets, and Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.
Valerian is a visual feast — Luc Besson's world-building and the sheer kaleidoscopic imagination of Alpha's design earn a genuine 4 for cinematography, rivaling the best of modern sci-fi spectacle. The Big Market sequence alone is stunning. However, the plot is structurally weak and predictable, leaning on a fairly rote genocide-cover-up conspiracy that never generates real tension. The leads (Dehaan and Delevingne) have limited chemistry and unconvincing performances, dragging the acting score down. Novelty is above average — the source material (Mézières' comics) is distinctive and the visual world feels genuinely unique even if the narrative beats are familiar. The ending resolves too neatly and emotionally flatly to feel earned.