Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.

[American Fox]

Luc Besson is mostly awesome, I want to start reading the comics. I'm a little disappointed that Lauraline's name isn't in the title, since they are a team.

And Fifth Element is Phantasy Star: The Movie, and its one of the most amazingly rewatchable things ever, next to Shawshank, Princess Bride, and Zodiac. You could catch it at any point and not mind having it on til the end.

 

[RedRockRun]

never heard of it before this trailer and it looks batshit bonkers and very french.. ah luc besson.. that explains alot

Gah! For the last time, its... pardon my French, BELGIAN!

 

[sageoftruth]

I don't think I've ever seen a movie trailer before that was so successful in both drawing me in and pushing me away at the same time. It's an interesting premise, but I'm worried that this plot may be too big for this movie's britches.

Also, warning lights started going off when I heard Miss Exposition Voice in the trailer. Ever since Lord of the Rings ended, that voice has always struck me as saying "We're trying to be as epic as Lord of the Rings, but we probably don't have the budget for it."

 

[09philj]

I think it's going to be a box office bomb.

 

[pookie101]

never heard of it before this trailer and it looks batshit bonkers and very french.. ah luc besson.. that explains alot

Gah! For the last time, its... pardon my French, BELGIAN!

oops.. my mistake i beg forgiveness and throw myself on your mercy

 

[MrCalavera_v1legacy]

I knew this gave me franco-belgian comic vibe for a reason. Well, the lightning doesn't strike twice etc., but here's hope it'll have some of that Fifth Element thunder.

 

[Xeorm]

That's an incredibly basic plot. It has shown up in Sleepy Hollow, The Lord of the Rings, Princess Mononoke, most of the Star Wars saga and The Matrix. And that's not even getting into anime/ western animation and video games while avoiding specifically YA material.

Hmm. Not really I'd argue. Not familiar with Sleepy Hollow or Princess Mononoke, but the others have the protagonists being chosen because something about them is special, or more commonly because they're swept up in circumstance (and then maybe turn out special).

This is them being told to go save the world/universe as the initial bit that drives the entire plot. The Matrix starts with Neo learning that the world is instead the Matrix, and then being brought out of it. Only after is anything about being the one mentioned.

Dane Dehaan, the lead actor, is 31. Bruce Willis was 33 when Die Hard was made (a story about how something evil is happening, and only you, Bruce Willis, can save us all!)

TIL the difference between an action hero and a YA hero is 2 years.

Age for actors is relative due to makeup and general outfit choices. Die hard was working hard to make their lead appear his age, and that's what it appeared. This new movie has them looking younger, and so they look like young adults to me. Actual age is irrelevant.

 

[linwolf]

Have read some of the comic though never in any order and far from it all. Never would've thought it would be picked for a movie, but find it as a pleasant surprise. Will most likely see it if reviews come out decent.

 

[RedRockRun]

I find it odd that some of the most influential comics have come out of Belgium of all places. What is it about Belgium that's so conducive to that medium of storytelling?

 

[twistedmic]

I find it odd that some of the most influential comics have come out of Belgium of all places. What is it about Belgium that's so conducive to that medium of storytelling?

Maybe it has something to do with the waffles. Their waffles seem to be very popular.

 

[Spacewolf]

Yea saw this trailer at the cinema the other day myself I kept thinking that it would be cool if they just got rid of the kids and got some less annoying actors as the mains.

 

[RedRockRun]

Too bad it's not called, "Valerian and Laureline." They had to go with some capeshit name to get people to the theaters.

 

[ckriley]

Most of Star Wars was directly ripped off from Valerian and Laureline:

"In Sci-Fi Chronicles: A Visual History of the Galaxy?s Greatest Science Fiction, contributor Matt Bielby details some of the designs and concepts in the Star Wars films that are similar to elements that first appeared in the French comic: ?The slave-girl outfit that Laureline wore in a 1972 adventure appears to have inspired Princess Leia Organa?s costume in The Return of the Jedi (1983). Other elements of Star Wars that seem indebted to the French strip include the Millennium Falcon, Luke falling from Cloud City, Han in carbonite, Darth Vader?s scarred face and the concept of clone armies ? indeed, on first seeing the George Lucas film, M?zi?res was said to have been ?furious.'?

Full article can be read here: https://nothingbutcomics.net/2015/12/14/valerian/

 

[s3cur1tr0n]

I saw this trailer the other day. I don't know what to say. It looks so terrible. Like Jon Carter on Mars terrible, queen of the damned terrible. I think sitting through this movie in a theater would give me some degenerative brain disorder. Also the lead actress's eybrows upset me for some reason.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

Most of Star Wars was directly ripped off from Valerian and Laureline:

"In Sci-Fi Chronicles: A Visual History of the Galaxy?s Greatest Science Fiction, contributor Matt Bielby details some of the designs and concepts in the Star Wars films that are similar to elements that first appeared in the French comic: ?The slave-girl outfit that Laureline wore in a 1972 adventure appears to have inspired Princess Leia Organa?s costume in The Return of the Jedi (1983). Other elements of Star Wars that seem indebted to the French strip include the Millennium Falcon, Luke falling from Cloud City, Han in carbonite, Darth Vader?s scarred face and the concept of clone armies ? indeed, on first seeing the George Lucas film, M?zi?res was said to have been ?furious.'?

Full article can be read here: https://nothingbutcomics.net/2015/12/14/valerian/

Meh, it's well known that Star Wars is a grab bag of stuff Lucas liked. There's bits and pieces of Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, Ben Hur, Fritz Lang's Metropolis and Akira Kurosawa movies strewn throughout the Lucas-directed movies, among many other influences and inspirations.

'Star Wars/Lucas ripped off x' is not new. Whether or not it was coincidental, deliberate or a case of 'saw/read it once and inadvertently copied it years later' is up in the air.

 

[spartandude]

If I hear it's good I'll give it a watch. But judging from the trailer... meh. I'll be honest. The main thing putting me off is the visuals. It looks like a CGI mess. It's like they took every graphical effect they could think of and threw them at the screen and it's really jarring.

 

[maninahat]

I find it odd that some of the most influential comics have come out of Belgium of all places. What is it about Belgium that's so conducive to that medium of storytelling?

Maybe it has something to do with the waffles. Their waffles seem to be very popular.

It's not specifically Belgium. Mainland Europe in general has a great pedigree in comics, and they tend not to be tied to a specific country (they're often collaborative creations). Sadly only Tintin and Asterix seem to have got a look in, but they've just started re-releasing Corto Maltese in English.

 

[Tanis]

I can't see it being good.

Sorry, but, just...too 'J.A.' and CGI vomitfest.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

If I hear it's good I'll give it a watch. But judging from the trailer... meh. I'll be honest. The main thing putting me off is the visuals. It looks like a CGI mess. It's like they took every graphical effect they could think of and threw them at the screen and it's really jarring.

Would you still care about the visuals if the movie was completely animated with no live action actors at all?