Valerian and the vague plot line
Along time ago in our very own galaxy, Luc Besson dreamed of directing a movie version of Valérian and Laureline, a sexy French comic book series featuring a pair of futuristic crime fighters who travel through space and time to uphold the law.
Too bad Valerian himself is such a dud. Written as a kind of cocky intergalactic lothario, Valerian ought to be as sexy and charismatic as a young Han Solo, though Chronicle star Dane Dehaan – so good in brooding-emo mode – seems incapable of playing the kind of aloof insouciance that made Harrison Ford so irresistible. Despite holding the rank of major, Valerian looks like an overgrown kid.
Fortunately, his co-star is cool enough for the both of them: As played by British fashion model Cara Delevingne (downright wooden in Suicide Squad, but a revelation here: sassy, sarcastic and spontaneous), Laureline holds true to one of Besson’s core beliefs – that nothing’s sexier than an assertive, empowered leading lady. Sure, she needs rescuing at times, but more often than not, she’s the one getting Valerian out of trouble. She’s just a sergeant, but every bit as capable as her commanding officer, and the film is considerably more fun when following her character.
The chemistry between the two may be odd, but they make a good team, constantly trying to prove themselves to one another while each pretending not to care. And yet, in so many ways, she seems worldlier than he does, right down to the film’s climactic monologue, in which Laureline lectures Valerian on the meaning of love.
Most of the time, he’s too busy following orders to question what his superiors are asking, but such blind obedience has its bounds, since the plot of Valerian concerns a vast military cover-up for a cataclysm Besson depicts in the film’s opening minutes.
Besson works at a fast clip, using dynamic framing and tight editing to convey loads of visual