It Had Its Moments, But I Just Didn't Get It.
I had never seen this film before, but had bought it a while ago. It was sat in my DVD drawer... (Yes I have a DVD drawer) It was constantly calling my name, begging me to stick it in my PS3 and enjoy the ride I had heard so much about. How disappointed was I when I was given a movie, that at times even lost itself when it came to what it was about and how it was meant to present itself. It has been billed as a Sci-Fi, action thriller. At times it became a slapstick comedy and others it became a romance movie set in the future. I'm not sure whether she's cursed, but Milla Jovovich has a knack at appearing in over hyped, yet terrible movies. Need I mention the first two Resident Evil movies or the travesty that was Ultraviolet?

The basic plot outline is that in the year 2214 the very existence of life itself is threatened by Evil. Want to know what evil is? It can only be described as a spherical object that absorbs everything mankind throws at it, and it's growing. The only thing that can stop it is the combination of the four elements along with a person who's the fifth element.(hence the movie name) In this year the fifth element is a woman who's created through the remains of a destroyed spaceship. When she's created she goes on the run and finds herself in the unlikely hands of, you guessed it. Bruce Willis, otherwise known as Korben Dallas. He's going to help her achieve her destiny and save existence. They are faced with obstacles, however, in the form of a money hungry "Art Dealer."

Yes. The plot is that weird. You would have thought that along with the strangeness of the plot it will have created a quirky, but gritty action movie. Instead it became a mess and from one moment to the next it simply didn't know what genre it wanted to belong to. If this was a movie trying to take itself seriously, then it failed. If it was meant to be a comedy then I have to admit it succeeded in making me laugh. Apart from the odd cool action sequence, this movie was simply ridiculous and failed to hold my attention. I struggled through it and I'm wondering who I can write to, to get my time back. I expected better from Bruce Willis and I have to be honest, I didn't expect anything more of Jovovich.

Stay away.

Ridiculously BRILLIANT!
Yes, I called this movie ridiculous, which is one of the reasons why it is so brilliant! Essentially, it's a 23rd century version of "Die Hard" meets "Airplane."

A menagerie of outrageous action with tongue-in-cheek humour that adventure film enthusiasts will find within, many, many verbal and visual spoofs of sci-fi, action and thriller genres and, in each new viewing, is bound to evoke memories of earlier works of each of those genres or movies that they had not seen prior to or between viewings; coupled with stunning and subtle direction, as well as cinematics that were overwhelmingly good for the mid '90's.

Many of the background effects, if not noticed in past viewings, were almost subliminal, but hysterically funny if you watch the movie and pay particular attention to the ambient foley effects of unexpected cartoon-ish sounds in the background. For instance, the cliched female of Eastern Bloc-ish origins, Major Iceborg's truncated militaristic head-nod that has a quiet brief "wsht-wsht" sound for the up and down nod.

It is also propelled by a surprising soundtrack (considering that it's a spoof) with beautiful and evocative operatic, new age and middle eastern music punctuated with neo high-tech rhythms and synthesizers.

Rounding the movie out is the stellar cast. I'm not certain if director Luc Besson incited the group to behave in such a fashion, but the actors masterfully use body, face and hand signals that actually seem to display the core of each CHARACTER as they were portrayed in the final script; each with an extensive array of humour as well as seriousness called for in each scene; Willis's eye rolling, Holm's reluctant hero's stutter, Gary Oldman's sinister leer and a full range of Milla Jovovich's persona, ultra-sexy, tiger-like smouldering glare or that of a vunerable, terrified damsel in distress.

Literally stealing almost each scene he's in, Chris Tucker plays an over-the-top, ultra-wealthy, ultra-vain super-celebrity, complete with eccentric and freakish hair styles and costumes and an ever-present
entourage [...]-kissing yes-men who look only slightly less outlandish.

Even thought his character is clearly a heterosexual womanising narcissist, his voice, dress and behaviours are so effeminate that the incongruity itself -- coupled with Tucker's biting wit, sarcasm and the juvenile, over-indulged whining and puling -- make him even funnier.

So, for all of you viewers who thought it was silly: you were right! It IS silly and rightfully so, but in combination with the amazing effects, direction and score, give it another chance...

To quote the research done by Wilipedia:
"...it was nominated for an Academy Award in 1998 in the Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing category, losing to Titanic, but it won the BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects. It was nominated for seven César awards and won three for Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Production Design. Visual Effects Society voted The Fifth Element the 50th most influential visual effects of all time."

A MUST buy for your Blu Ray player
I love the look of this flim on blu-ray and on a plasma tv. It's such a beautiful film to watch from start to finish because it is so visually STUNNING. The sound is crisp, especially when the Diva sings and I watched this twice through, once with the popups on and that is really cool as you playing the movie, little facts would pop up and tell you about a scene, an actor, or some trivia. So for fans of the film (like I am) its kinda cool to watch the movie that way. But it is also cool just watching and immersing yourself into the film. I swear Luc Besson made this movie with Blu-Ray in mind. And now its only $14?? That is a STEAL at that price.

By the way, I decided not to review the movie itself because I only recommend this purchase to those who have seen the movie, and who are fans, and those of you that own a blu-ray player. I just wanted to base the reiview on the Blu-Ray DVD and this one got tons of extras to explore, but it is worth the purchase just on the visually stunning scenes alone. Do not purchase if you do not have a Plasma or LCD Television. This movie is meant to be seen in 1080p (I would even give you 1080i or 720p, but no lower).

Widescreen/Dolby surround (Dolby Pro Logic)
Awesome movie. For VHS this is the best presentation. Widescreen with Dolby surround (if you have Dolby Pro Logic). If you done't have DVD yet, I would recommend this version of the movie only.

Fast shipping!
Great price and fast shipping. Product was wrapped and perfect, what more is there to say?!