'Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets': What the Critics Are Saying

Courtesy of STX Entertainment

'Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets'

THR's Todd McCarthy writes, "The Razzies don't need to wait until the end of the year to anoint a winner for 2017," but some critics found more to like about Luc Besson's sci-fi epic.

Are the reviews for Luc Besson's Valerian out of this world?

The adaptation of the French comic Valerian et Laureline stars Dane DeHaan as the adventurer Valerian and Cara Delevingne as his partner Laureline, who find themselves on an enormous space station called Alpha, home to thousands of species.

Valerian, which is set to open July 21 opposite Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk, is considered a big gamble for Besson, who has dreamed of making the film for decades, back to his Fifth Element days. (He has maintained the financial risk to his EuropaCorp is minimal, thanks to foreign presales.) Sizzle reels and trailers at conventions around the country over the past year have wowed with their effects, but according to reviews out Monday, the dazzling 3D isn't enough to win over many critics.

The Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy has a lot to say about the film, but really, the first paragraph of his reivew sort of says it all: "The Razzies don't need to wait until the end of the year to anoint a winner for 2017. The Golden Turkey Awards should be republished with a new cover. Euro-trash is back, while sci-fi will need to lick its wounds for a while. Dane DeHaan, who has starred in two of the most egregiously bloated misfires of the year with A Cure for Wellness and now this, should do a couple of indie films, while Cara Delevingne needs to learn there is more to acting than smirking and eye-rolling. Rihanna should pretend this never happened. And the Hollywood studio chiefs can breathe easy that, this time, at least, they'll escape blame for making a giant summer franchise picture that nobody wants to see, since this one's a French import."......

Read more On The Hollywood Reporter

To see on our website Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (France)