When the first trailer for Valerian: City of a Thousand Planets debuted, I said it remained to be seen whether or not it’s more Guardians of the Galaxy or Jupiter Ascending. Well, a new trailer premiered at CinemaCon, and this one gives us more of a sense of the story and the scope of the “City of a Thousand Planets”, and the answer to my question is: Valerian looks like Jupiter Ascending, but good. (Although Jupiter does make for a hi-larious bad movie watch.) It’s WAY out there, with tons of slick alien and creature design, eye-popping locations, and space action. And goddamn, Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne look so fun together in every scene.
I LOVE how this trailer looks. As a fan of The Fifth Element—legit underrated secretly good movie (Lainey: I LOVE THE FIFTH ELEMENT!)—I’m excited that Besson finally has the technological capability to fully realize his vision. And I’m heartened that Laureline continues to be a big presence in the trailers, despite that dumb title demotion. Delevingne didn’t impress in Suicide Squad, but then, almost no one did, but she looks a lot more animated and interesting here. She’s clearly having fun, and while the boob armor on her space suit is supremely awkward, she looks really cool in every shot.
My one concern is that this is, in style and tone, perhaps too close to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. I’m worried that might steal some of Valerian’s thunder. I hope that we have room for two bananas space operas, but audiences are pretty either/or these days. The Fifth Element was a franchise Besson never got to fulfill. I’d like to see what he can do with a world like Valerian and Laureline’s, if only he gets the chance.
