# Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 14, 2016, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-and-the-city-of-a-thousand-planets/771936 "2016-11-14T04:41:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-and-the-city-of-a-thousand-planets/771936/1 "2016-11-14T04:41:01Z")
[Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2239822/?ref_=nv_sr_1) is set for release 21 July 2017. Looks like Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is gonna have some competition! Luc Besson totally fucking rocks! The trailer looks AMAZING! It’s hard to believe the source material will be 50 years old when the movie is released. In 2015 I had only Mad Max: Fury Road to look forward to, so I saw it 3 times in the theatre. In 2016 I had nothing to look forward to for summer movies and only a handful of films all year that I gave a crap about. Now, for 2017 I have something like 11 films I’m excited about! WOOT! Anyone else heard of this? Excited about it? ---
**Author:** ![Barking\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Barking\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barking_Dog)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-and-the-city-of-a-thousand-planets/771936/2 "2016-11-14T06:38:45Z")
Yeah, I’m looking forward to it too. I’d never heard of it before today when I saw the trailer, but it looks amazing. Fifth Element is one of my favoritest films so I have little doubt this is going to be pretty phenomenal. I think I’ll try and track down a copy of some of the comic books, to tide me over til next year. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-and-the-city-of-a-thousand-planets/771936/3 "2016-11-14T07:37:35Z")
Hard to tell from the trailer. It could be good or it could be another _Jupiter Ascending_. I’m suspicious that the trailer seemed a lot more focused on the special effects than the story or the characters. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-and-the-city-of-a-thousand-planets/771936/4 "2016-11-14T07:59:38Z")
Looking forward to it - love that _BD_ look. In general, Besson is great. Having said that - are you all aware a _Lucy_ sequel is in the offing? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-and-the-city-of-a-thousand-planets/771936/5 "2016-11-14T08:00:46Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Hard to tell from the trailer. It could be good or it could be another _Jupiter Ascending_. I’m suspicious that the trailer seemed a lot more focused on the special effects than the story or the characters. I _liked_ _Jupiter Ascending_. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-and-the-city-of-a-thousand-planets/771936/6 "2016-11-14T08:53:01Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Hard to tell from the trailer. It could be good or it could be another _Jupiter Ascending_. I’m suspicious that the trailer seemed a lot more focused on the special effects than the story or the characters. That’s my fear. There was a lot of visual splendour, not a lot of character yet. That’s okay for a teaser, so I cautiously reserve judgement. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-and-the-city-of-a-thousand-planets/771936/7 "2016-11-14T16:28:38Z")
> [@Barking\_Dog](#): > > Yeah, I’m looking forward to it too. I’d never heard of it before today when I saw the trailer, but it looks amazing. Fifth Element is one of my favoritest films so I have little doubt this is going to be pretty phenomenal. > I think I’ll try and track down a copy of some of the comic books, to tide me over til next year. Most of the comics are available on Amazon, although it looks like they are currently out of some of them. I expect that the movie will spur reprints, tho. Aye; a lot of my excitement is baed on Besson’s track record. I haven’t seen _Lucy_ yet tho and I know it got a lot of mixed reviews, but _Leon: The Professional_ and _The Fifth Element_ are high on my list of “Best Movies of the Last 30 Years” list. And even his movies that are just good (_The Family_, _Arthur and the Invisibles_, _The Lady_, _Le Femme Nikita_) are enjoyable, so I’m hopeful. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-and-the-city-of-a-thousand-planets/771936/8 "2016-11-14T16:37:55Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Hard to tell from the trailer. It could be good or it could be another _Jupiter Ascending_. I’m suspicious that the trailer seemed a lot more focused on the special effects than the story or the characters. > [@GuanoLad](#): > > That’s my fear. There was a lot of visual splendour, not a lot of character yet. That’s okay for a teaser, so I cautiously reserve judgement. There’s also [a brief interview with Cara Delevingne](http://www.imdb.com/videoplayer/vi2159064089?ref_=tt_pv_vi_aiv_1) (in costume and apparently on-set) and she specifically declines to answer quite a few questions about the plot or the characters (in a very playful way, tho). IIRC she says Besson doesn’t want too many details getting out. An example is she’s asked about Rhianna and while she will talk about how great Rhianna is, she doesn’t say a word about Rhianna’s character or even how much they interact. Dane DeHaan does the same thing when he’s asked (again, while in costume). As I understand things, Besson got the laws of France re-written so he could shoot this film in France and take advantage of tax breaks offered to film productions. The old laws would have precluded him filming in France, costing the economy 1200 +/- jobs worth well over US$150,000,000, solely because the film is in English. Politicians saw the wisdom of suddenly not caring about languages and rewrote the laws. From what I’ve read, this is the largest budget film ever made in France, with a budget of about US$197M. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-and-the-city-of-a-thousand-planets/771936/9 "2016-11-14T17:14:18Z")
Too bad Caitlin Clarke is gone or she could reprise her role. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-and-the-city-of-a-thousand-planets/771936/10 "2016-11-14T17:16:37Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Too bad Caitlin Clarke is gone or she could reprise her role. Different Valerian; this one is a guy. And that’s just so sad: gone at 52. Fuck cancer! ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-and-the-city-of-a-thousand-planets/771936/11 "2016-11-14T18:24:38Z")
City of a thousand planets? How does that work? Are you sure you counted right? Anyway, this looks interesting in a Fifth Element sort of way – in fact, it looks very, very similar. Same canyon like streets with floating cars, vaguely saurian blobby alien bad guys and, I dunno, rococo(?) design aesthetic. Bit of a clash between the CGI scenes and the scenes (like the beach) where it was probably uncluttered real world. So, tell me about this plot thing again? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-and-the-city-of-a-thousand-planets/771936/12 "2016-11-14T18:59:33Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Hard to tell from the trailer. It could be good or it could be another _Jupiter Ascending_. I’m suspicious that the trailer seemed a lot more focused on the special effects than the story or the characters. Reading about it, the plot seems very weak. wiki _"Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are special operatives for the government of the human territories charged with maintaining order throughout the universe. Valerian has more in mind than a professional relationship with his partner – blatantly chasing after her with propositions of romance. But his extensive history with women, and her traditional values, drive Laureline to continuously rebuff him. "_ But those are Avatar level graphics, so… ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-and-the-city-of-a-thousand-planets/771936/13 "2016-11-14T19:35:38Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > City of a thousand planets? How does that work? Are you sure you counted right? > > Anyway, this looks interesting in a Fifth Element sort of way – in fact, it looks very, very similar. Same canyon like streets with floating cars, vaguely saurian blobby alien bad guys and, I dunno, rococo(?) design aesthetic. Bit of a clash between the CGI scenes and the scenes (like the beach) where it was probably uncluttered real world. > > So, tell me about this plot thing again? One reason that it looks a lot like the old of TFE is that Besson based a lot of that on the Valerian and Laureling books. He’s been a big fan since he was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-and-the-city-of-a-thousand-planets/771936/14 "2016-11-14T19:37:06Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Reading about it, the plot seems very weak. wiki > > _"Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are special operatives for the government of the human territories charged with maintaining order throughout the universe. Valerian has more in mind than a professional relationship with his partner – blatantly chasing after her with propositions of romance. But his extensive history with women, and her traditional values, drive Laureline to continuously rebuff him. "_ > > But those are Avatar level graphics, so… Perhaps the plot seems weak because you didn’t bother with the rest of the description? > [@](#): > > Under directive from their Commander (Clive Owen), Valerian and Laureline embark on a mission to the breathtaking intergalactic city of Alpha, an ever-expanding metropolis comprised of thousands of different species from all four corners of the universe. Alpha’s seventeen million inhabitants have converged over time – uniting their talents, technology and resources for the betterment of all. Unfortunately, not everyone on Alpha shares in these same objectives; in fact, unseen forces are at work, placing our race in great danger. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-and-the-city-of-a-thousand-planets/771936/15 "2016-11-14T19:38:45Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Perhaps the plot seems weak because you didn’t bother with the rest of the description? I didnt bother as that was the portion of the plot that I thought seemed so very weak and cliched. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-and-the-city-of-a-thousand-planets/771936/16 "2016-11-14T19:52:01Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I didnt bother as that was the portion of the plot that I thought seemed so very weak and cliched. What you quoted makes the film sound as tho it’s a romance movie. It’s not. It’s a buddy cop movie. There is a plot; the romance seems to be subtext. If by cliched you mean “theres something going on that they have to investigate and put a stop to, and there will be romantic subtext”, well, how is that different than Guardians of the Galaxy or Lethal Weapon 3 or 48 Hours or The Fifth Element and why do you think its something so easily dismissed? Did you not enjoy any of those other movies? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-and-the-city-of-a-thousand-planets/771936/17 "2016-11-14T19:59:26Z")
I’m hopeful, as I really like The Fifth Element. The visuals were great, but I also like it for the humorous aspects of the plot. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-and-the-city-of-a-thousand-planets/771936/18 "2016-11-14T20:04:54Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > What you quoted makes the film sound as tho it’s a romance movie. It’s not. It’s a buddy cop movie. There is a plot; the romance seems to be subtext. How do you know that from a very short promo? No, they are NOT “buddy cops”: Jack Cates didnt try to kiss Reggie Hammond, Tango didnt have a “thing” for Cash, there is little romantic plot between the stars of Rush Hour, etc. But it remains to be seen. So far, every film like this where they spent a gazillion on scenery and SFX has been very “plot light”-\* Avatar, Jupiter Ascending\*, etc. ---
**Author:** ![zwede](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ac91a4/32.png) [@zwede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zwede)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-and-the-city-of-a-thousand-planets/771936/19 "2016-11-14T20:12:38Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > City of a thousand planets? How does that work? Are you sure you counted right? We’ll see how strict the movie sticks to the comics. In the comics Laureline is from midieval earth, Valerian is a “temporal spatial agent” (aka time traveler) that recruits her on one of his missions. The city of a thousand planets is a gigantic space station where alien races from all over attach their own sections to support their atmospheric requirements. The comics are very good, I recommend them. Cool to read them and see stuff I recognize from sci-fi movies that came out decades after the comics were made. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-and-the-city-of-a-thousand-planets/771936/20 "2016-11-14T20:21:13Z")
> [@zwede](#): > > We’ll see how strict the movie sticks to the comics. In the comics Laureline is from midieval earth, Valerian is a “temporal spatial agent” (aka time traveler) that recruits her on one of his missions. Does Valerian travel in a blue rectangular box? 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-and-the-city-of-a-thousand-planets/771936.md?page=2)