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Movies / On DVD / The Fifth Element
The Fifth Element

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The Fifth Element (1997)

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Reviews Counted:51

Fresh:36

Rotten:15

Average Rating:6.3/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 6 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Synopsis: A visual feast combining ancient mysticism, cyberpunk sensibilities, flamboyant entertainment personalities, and gun-toting alien mercenaries. In the 23rd century, Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis), an... A visual feast combining ancient mysticism, cyberpunk sensibilities, flamboyant entertainment personalities, and gun-toting alien mercenaries. In the 23rd century, Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis), an ex-special forces agent who now practices as a down-and-out cabbie, finds himself caught in a struggle to defy a prophesied Evil from destroying the Earth when a mysterious woman (Milla Jovovich) falls into the back seat of his cab. Pursued by both the government and a powerful magnate enlisted by the forces of Evil (Gary Oldman), the woman is the key to Earth's salvation, known only as the Fifth Element. This was French auteur Besson's first offering with Hollywood backing. Academy Award Nomination: Best Sound Effects Editing. [More]

Starring: Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm

Starring: Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Luke Perry, Chris Tucker, Brion James, Tom "Tiny" Lister, Lee Evans, Tricky, Charlie Creed-Miles, John Neville, John Bluthall, Mathieu Kassovitz, Maiwenn Le Besco, Christopher Fairbank, Kim Chan, Richard Leaf, Julie T. Wallace, Al Matthews, John Bennett, Ivan Heng, Sonita Henry, Tim McMullan, Hon Ping Tang, George Khan, John Hughes, Robert Bryce, Said Talidi, Justin Lee Burrows, Richard Ashton, Jerome Blake, Bill Reimbold, Colin Brooks, Anthony Chinn, Sam Douglas, Derek Ezenagu, David Kennedy, David Barrass, Mac McDonald, Jean-Luc Caron, Riz Meedin, Jerry Ezekiel, Indra Ove, Nicole Merry, Stacey McKenzie, Rachel Willis, Genevieve Maylam, Josie Perez, Natasha Brice, Sophia Goth, Martin McDougall, Peter Dunwell, Paul Priestley, Jason Salkey, Stewart Harvey-Wilson, David Fishley, Carlton Chance, Gia Clarke, Vladimir McCrary, Clifton Lloyd Bryan, Aron Paramor, Alan Ruscoe, Christopher Adamson, Kaleem Janjua, Eve Salvail, Tyrone Tyrell, Kevin Brewerton, Kevin Molloy, Vince Pellegrino, Ian Beckett, Sonny Caldinez, Zeta Graff, Eddie Ellwood, Yui, Laura De Palma, Michael Culkin, Lenny McLean, Robert Oates, John Sharian, Fred Williams, Sibyl Buck, Sarah Carrington, Grant James, Ali Yassine, Sean Buckley, Dane Messam, Roger Monk, Nathan Hamlett, Cecil Cheng, Scott Woods, Leon Dekker, David Garvey, Stanley Kowalski, Omar Williams, Robert Clapperton, Robert Alexander, Mia Frye, Leo Williams, C. Keith Martin, J.D. Dawodu, Patrick Nicholls, Shaun Davis, Roy Garcia Singh, Alex Georgijev, Marie Guillard, Renee Montemayor, Stina Richardson, Inva Mulla Tchako

Director: Luc Besson

Director: Luc Besson
Story: Luc Besson
Screenwriter: Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen
Producer: Patrice Ledoux
Composer: Gaetano Donizetti, Eric Serra

[See More Credits]

Reviews for The Fifth Element

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Besson's futuristic fable is flawed by a messy narrative which strains to incorporate far too many grotesque and eccentric characters.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Bruce Willis is good in an average role, Milla Jovovich is acceptable in a terrible role, but as ever Gary Oldman is terrific in how he seems to find just the right note for the film and threatens to take it over.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/17/01
William Gallagher
William Gallagher
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Pure eye-candy and a rollicking good-time.

Full Review Source: Three Movie Buffs | comment Comment
03/24/09
Scott Nash
Scott Nash
Three Movie Buffs

A hodgepodge of elements that don't comfortably coalesce.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
09/04/08
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's a triumph of form over content, but it's a stunning triumph.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
02/03/08
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

I knew where it was going at all times, but the ride was excellent.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

The story is such a cut-rate kid's sci-fi fairy tale that at one point Evil actually calls Gary Oldman on the phone (and it isn't played for laughs).

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Jimmy Chertkow
Jimmy Chertkow
Film Threat

Besson has done a solid, if not outstanding, job in bringing his story, written as a teenager, to the big screen.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
04/09/05
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

A motion picture with the body of a mainstream blockbuster but the spirit of a trendy cult flick.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment 1 Comment
01/26/05
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

The special effects provided Besson with the tools to provide the movie with the spectacular images, displaying the eagerness of a child in a candy store.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
08/29/03
Dragan Antulov
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews

It's cyberpunk!

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
04/08/03
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Everything from the visual effects to the costume design seems to shout out like a precocious child: "Look at me!"

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
03/18/03
Brian Mckay
Brian Mckay
eFilmCritic.com

The best-looking science fiction movie to come out in years, with fabulous sets, costumes and special effects, but its plot doesn't quite measure up to its appearance.

Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
03/16/03
Robert Roten
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

No review available.

comment Comment
03/06/03
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons

Fifth Element doesn't reach the level of great sci-fi to which it clearly aspires because it has too many characters doing too many things for too few reasons. Still, it's a lot of fun.

Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer | comment Comment
10/15/02
Margaret A. McGurk
Margaret A. McGurk
Cincinnati Enquirer

don't mind the one-dimensional characters and the sci-fi nonsense, but I really could have done without the unfunny, very French humor.

Full Review Source: Montreal Film Journal | comment Comment
09/10/02
Kevin N. Laforest
Kevin N. Laforest
Montreal Film Journal

Slam-dunk sci-fi extravaganza.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
08/26/02
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

The Fifth Element has to be the most creative visualization since Tim Burton's first Batman in 1989. On top of that, it's a whole lot of fun.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
06/18/02
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle

The film's most basic conceit -- that there is an anti-life that, despite its nature, can have a desire and can operate physically in this universe, using its elements -- is not only never explained, it can't be.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/05/02
Kim Williamson
Kim Williamson
Boxoffice Magazine
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

Latest News for The Fifth Element

March 14, 2007: Besson Contemplates Post-"Fifth Element" Return to Sci-Fi
"The Fifth Element" was Luc Besson's only foray into science fiction. Though praised by many fans and critics, the experience was so frustrating for the filmmaker that... More...

January 11, 2007: Box Office Guru Preview: Can Sony "Stomp" the "Museum?"
Can Ben Stiller and his living artifacts four-peat at the top of the North American box office, or will one of the new releases take the crown over the four-day Dr. Martin... More...

January 03, 2007: Kevin Smith Fulfills His Bruce Willis Dream, Appears in "Die Hard 4"
If you're MySpace friends with "Clerks" man Kevin Smith, you already know that the uber fanboy is a ginormous Bruce Willis fan (OMG he's online now!)...and now, the... More...

September 12, 2006: Director Luc Besson Gives Up Camera for Civic Projects
Director Luc Besson tells the Associated Press that "Arthur et Les Minimoys" (Arthur and the Invisibles), which will open Jan 12, 2007 in the States, is his last movie... More...

See All

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