The Fifth Element (DVD)

...friendly aliens who explain about the 5 elements and the stone but then they are about to leave the 5th Element, the stone of life is broken and smashed. Back in the present, 2257, the hand of this statue has been found amongst some wreckage and with the technology which they have they re-grow the person who the hand belonged to.

Also on Earth there is the presence of a massive planet shaped weapon which has come to claim the stones ...
...what is needed to save the planet.

Back to the regenerated person, it turns out to be Leeloo who makes an escape and falls into the taxi of Korban Dallas, played by Bruce Willis, he reluctantly agrees to help her as all she can say in English is please help and find out from her that she need to see Priest Vito Corneillious who knows about the five stones and the power they have when all together. They set off in search of the 4 other ... more

Although this film is set in 2257 we start 5000 years before this when a small temple in Egypt is visited by friendly aliens who explain about the 5 elements and the stone but then they are about to leave the 5th Element, the stone of life is broken and smashed. Back in the present, 2257, the hand of this statue has been found amongst some wreckage and with the technology which they have they re-grow the person who the hand belonged to.

Also on Earth there is the presence of a massive planet shaped weapon which has come to claim the stones or it will destroy all life. The President gets a shock when he learn of what is needed to save the planet.

Back to the regenerated person, it turns out to be Leeloo who makes an escape and falls into the taxi of Korban Dallas, played by Bruce Willis, he reluctantly agrees to help her as all she can say in English is please help and find out from her that she need to see Priest Vito Corneillious who knows about the five stones and the power they have when all together. They set off in search of the 4 other stones but hot on their heels is a ruthless business man, Zorg, who is also after the stones so he can give them to the evil power and gain his fortune. Just who will get the stones first and will they be able to save mankind?

I did actually enjoy this film despite it not being what I usually watch. I thought that the storyline was very good but it was made slightly unrealistic with it being set in the future. I think that this film could quite easily have been set in the present time and have been just as good and maybe a little more believable as we would have only had the weapons and vehicles which we have today and not all of these strange looking ones which we saw. I also think that the presence of the aliens was slightly strange as they all looked too silly to be believable.

The part which Bruce Willis played was good and I did like his character a lot. He managed to bring so many different sides out in Korban and I think this this did add to the story. I liked how he kept quiet about his past and was slightly surprised when I found out about it but thought it worked very well with the story. I enjoyed the humour which he bought to the film when he would be driving his Taxi and also found the conversations with his Mom quite funny.

Leeloo was a good character and I liked how she came across as very vulnerable despite being the divine being and I thought that she worked extremely well with Bruce and I liked the chemistry they had together. There were a lot of supporting actors and actresses in the film and they all did a great job and all helped to give the film a little depth. The one which I did not like was the role of zorg, he came across as very silly and childlike and I hated the way he would saunter around and especially the way he looked, he really did look strange and funny at times.

This film is set in the future when we all have flying cars and live miles up in the sky. I think that a lot of time and effort was put into the making of the effects and sets. The costumes were at times very strange and looked daft but this did keep in with the film. The effects throughout the film were very good and all looked very authentic. I think a lot of time and money must have been spent making these look as good as they were. The only costumes which I did not like were the aliens as they looked too daft and as if they belonged in Star Wars where they all look weird. I think a little more time on their appearance would have helped make them fit into the film more,

Now for me I did find this film had a lot of humour, I did think that all of it was intended but at times I was laughing. Hubby did not find it quite as funny as me but I think the wit and fun which came with the character of Zorg, even though I did not particularly like him, an d also the conversations between Korban and his Mom. I think there was also some funny moments with Korban and Leeloo. This for me did make the film better to watch.

The music through out the film was quite varied, we have Indian music at the beginning and then a few minutes later we had opera but I did enjoy the variety and think it all fitted very well into the film.

The DVD which we have does have some bonus material which includes:-

Original Theatrical Trailer
Searching for the Fifth Element
Cast and Crew Biographies
Interactive Moving Menus.

I am not a fan of bonus features so have not watched any of these so I am not able to make comment.

The running time of this film is 121 minutes but it did move at a good pace and I did not find I was getting bored or loosing interest at any point. The certificate on this film is a PG but I was slightly surprised by this as there is some violence and sexual references and also Leeloo does show her breasts in one part so I would advise caution if young children are viewing this. We bought this DVD many months ago and I cannot remember what price we paid but as it is a fairly old one it should be available for just a few pound on sites such as Amazon or EBay.

Overall I will recommend this film as it does have a good storyline and good actors but it is certainly not one of the best science fiction film which I have seen.

 

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