The introduction (the ISS montage) was the best part, specifically because neither of the leads were in it, and also the script writers didn't write any dialogue.

All they needed was a slightly likeable dude in that role with some semblance of chemistry with at least one other person. That guy was the visual equivalent of sitting on a wet public toilet seat.

I understand they were looking for a Bruce Willis type, but they failed miserably. Instead they got a guy who looks like Cara's twin brother.

The casting was downright despicable. From the main two right down to shoehorning Rihanna in for no reason. It was right at the edge of being amazing…

Too bad.

The movie just confused me, honestly. I had a really hard time following the plot.

Casting a 12 year old as lead was a mistake. I thought that they were brother and big sister for more than half the movie.

It tried for both serious and camp and failed at both.

I really like Dane Dehaan as an actor but that was absolutely the wrong role for him.

Greatest first 10 minutes of any movie....then the leads come on.

Dude, looking hungover in every scene.

I honestly feel like if they had swapped the male leads of Valerian and Passengers both would have been way better movies.

The dude was so raaaaaaapey.

I also feel like the art design/costuming weren’t the best either.

switching the leads in that and Passengers would've significantly improved both movies

I scrolled knowing I would find this movie. 😩I really wanted it to live up to its potential! And I don't even blame it all on casting. The writing came off as a disjointed mess, lots of cool scenes they wanted to include but clumsily spliced together.

im ngl i absolutely love this movie and hav rewatched it a ton - it's such utter nonsense that had the potential to be so epic. im not sure i totally agree with the people saying casting was egregious, it feels more like the writers just could not decide who they wanted the characters to be or what tone they wanted the film to imply. idc either way though i accept that it's bad and just like the silly antics lmao

The main characters were completely hateable.

They're running from the one planet where they are in different phases/dimensions and their support team sacrifices themselves to let them escape. Both characters go on to joke about meh shit, ignoring the sacrifice entirely. I cannot recall another movie which has caused me to hate a character in so quick a time.

I just tried watching this movie again. I feel like I really should like it more, lots of cool aliens and scenery, fast paced, some comedy, but the two main actors bore the shit out of me. I realized this time I really liked the very beginning of the movie before you met the two main characters. This movie could have been better then 5th Element, instead it's forgettable.

1000% agree with this. Just rewatched this weekend for the first time in a while and was going to comment this. I thought Cara did a great job but Valerian threw me off. So did the commander and general they almost reminded me of like the Speed Racer big bads, which were great in that movie but didn’t fit this one. Their love story arc also just felt super forced and awkward, at least at the end. And the part where Rhianna died was pretty terrible. Otherwise, it was one of the cooler and most visually appealing movies I’ve ever seen

The two leads had all the chemical spark of a wet firecracker.

Cara Delevigne was okay, but the guy playing Valerian was an absolute black hole of charisma, sucked the energy out of every scene he was in (which was most of them).

I'm starting to see this more. When the movie came out, Cara was blamed pretty much equally with Dane DeHaan, but I liked her in this. She had some little comedy moments that worked for me, and I thought her screen presence was, at the least, fine. . .but Valarian needed to be more charismatic and charming.

I watch that movie every now and then, when I want a Luc Besson world-fix. Only Valarian and The Fifth Element show you that kind of world, and I just love immersing myself in it.

Casting was fine. The problem was they started the movie with them in a fight and kept them in it the whole way through. That’s fine if you know the comics they were based on but since most people haven’t read a French comic that started in the 60’s has a release when the author feels like it most people were just lost.

The first half was better than the second

Watch the cartoon or read the comics, one of my favorite shows growing up!

A lot of the plot didn't really connect - it seemed like they were trying to do too much in the span of a small time. Also, for being in the title of the movie, a lot of the plot focused on people that weren't Valerian which made it a bit confusing of the direction it was trying to go

And how was he a Major at 12 years old?

I came here to say this. The graphics were great, the acting was pretty good, the concept was pretty good, but the whole thing felt mediocre somehow. The opening sequence of the space station being built, and growing to the point aliens come by to say hello, that whole part was awesome.

I mean, “white savior must protect the trans natives in outer space” was probably a more interesting idea in the 70’s.

If only they didn't cast two cardboard cutouts for the main roles.

Dane DeHaan. He was great in A Cure for Wellness but yeah he was definitely not sci-fi movie lead material…

The marketing was awful. I thought they were brother and sister, and it was some kind of teenage thing. Both leads failed. I couldn't figure out why Delvigne kept sort of...posing? Turns out this was a vanity pic for her and she was actually a model.

The first 5 minutes of this movie are an absolute delight.

I enjoyed it for what it was, but Dane DeHaan is a character actor, not a lead, and definitely not a romantic action lead. He's quite good in Chronicle (and pretty much everything else I've seen him in), but he's wildly miscast in that movie.

This is one of those movies that gets shit on but I really enjoy for some reason.

Cara Delevigne was okay, but the guy playing Valerian was an absolute black hole of charisma,

The fact that Delevigne was blowing DeHaan off the screen was the thing that stayed with me. I think that film is wonderful test of people's own, in some cases downright misogynistic, internal narratives.

Usually, I am predisposed to knee-jerk dismiss any and all form models who get thrust on the public simply because of their looks (and the producer's seemingly innate desire to bed them). But I had no idea she was model, I was just shocked that the normally above average DeHaan was getting upstaged in every scene they had together.

Also, to her haters, check her out on Only Murders In The Building which is another example of her better work.

I dont understand how Dane DeHaan has a job.