Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets - E... -

handled by industry titans like Weta Digital and ILM. Its opening sequence, set to David Bowie’s "Space Oddity," is widely cited by as one of the best world-building intros in sci-fi history. Why It’s "Interesting" (and Controversial) Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) - IMDb

Compare it further to the Valerian and Laureline comic series. Suggest similar sci-fi films to watch next.

Critically, Valerian is a polarizing experience. It favors wonder and imagination over the traditional grit of modern sci-fi. It doesn't try to be a dark military thriller; instead, it embraces the vibrant, psychedelic spirit of European comic art. For viewers who miss the era of grand, colorful space operas, Valerian offers a refreshing escape. It is a film that rewards high-definition viewing, as the sheer density of the "thousand planets" represented on screen is impossible to catch in a single sitting.

The story is set in the 28th century, where the once-humble International Space Station has been expanded beyond measure, becoming a magnificent, wandering city called Alpha. Home to millions of beings from thousands of planets, Alpha is a glittering monument to interstellar peace and cooperation. To maintain order in this vast metropolis and the surrounding territories, the United Human Federation employs special operatives, the best of whom are the charming but brash Major Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and his more pragmatic partner, Sergeant Laureline (Cara Delevingne). Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets - E...

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets remains a testament to the power of a singular vision. Luc Besson wanted to show us a universe where a thousand species live together under one roof, and he succeeded. That it stumbles on the human element is almost ironic—in a city of a thousand planets, the hardest thing to write is a good conversation between two people. But for those willing to look past the cracks, Alpha is waiting. And it is glorious.

Delevingne delivers a standout performance, capturing Laureline’s sharp intelligence, fierce independence, and combat prowess. She frequently outshines her male counterpart, grounding the film's emotional stakes.

The film ends with Valerian and Laureline defying orders. They return the stolen converter to the Pearls, which regenerates their home planet’s core. Instead of punishing them, the Federation Commander thanks them, and the two agents request to be stationed on Alpha permanently. The final shot is the two of them walking into the depths of the city, ready for new adventures—a perfect setup for a sequel that will likely never happen. handled by industry titans like Weta Digital and ILM

Why did it fail?

However, time has a way of smoothing the edges of box office failures. Years later, removed from the hype cycle and the financial context, Valerian emerges not as a catastrophe, but as a fascinating artifact of pure, unadulterated imagination. It is a "magnificent failure"—a film that reaches for the stars, grasps them firmly in its visual design, but stumbles in the chemistry of its human elements.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets: An Epic Analysis of Visual Brilliance and Narrative Missteps Suggest similar sci-fi films to watch next

The film’s pièce de résistance is the "Big Market" sequence. Here, Besson visualizes a concept that could only exist in cinema: a dimensional marketplace where tourists in a barren desert wear virtual reality headsets to shop in a bustling, futuristic bazaar existing in another dimension. The interplay between the tactile desert reality and the digital overlay creates a heist sequence that is innovative, confusing, and utterly exhilarating. It represents the peak of the film’s ambition: using CGI not just to blow things up, but to bend the rules of physics and perception.

In 2017, visionary French director Luc Besson (known for The Fifth Element and Lucy ) delivered what might be the most expensive independent film ever made: Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets . Based on the seminal French comic series Valérian and Laureline by Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières, the film is less a conventional blockbuster and more a $200 million love letter to the sci-fi medium itself.

Before the film’s CGI spectacle, there was the comic. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is based on the legendary French comic series , created by writer Pierre Christin and artist Jean-Claude Mézières . First published in the anthology magazine Pilote in 1967, the series ran for over 50 years, spanning 23 graphic novels and concluding in 2019. The series followed the adventures of Valérian, a “spatio-temporal agent” from the 28th century, and his partner, the quick-witted Laureline, a young woman from the Middle Ages he brought to the future.