Movie: The Fifth Element

This movie is one of the handful that I will rewatch at least once or twice a year. There may be a lot of movies I have not seen, but hands down I still think this must be the best futuristic part-action part-comedy movie ever made. That may sound oddly specific but its hard to describe The Fifth Element. Maybe it's a comedy disguised as an action movie, or maybe its really an action movie that just takes place in a comedically-futuristic setting. Whatever it is, it is best in class!



In the opening scenes of the movie, taking place in 1914 Egypt, aliens descend from the heavens to make periodic contact with humans. Now, what is immediately odd is that the scene and dialogue appear relatively serious. There is discussion of continuing to protect a cosmic secret, a standoff with a gun, and some very detailed visuals of the alien space ship. This starkly contrasts the appearance of the aliens, which look like waddling pancake birds in clunky robot suits. You are left thinking, "Wait a minute, is this movie serious? Am I having the wrong sort of reaction to how ridiculous these aliens look?".



Cut to 300 years later, in 2214. A mysterious death planet thing is headed for Earth, and a future space-priest of the same order we saw in the opening of the movie is trying to meet with the president. Again, in contrast to the tense discussion of a possible doomsday scenario, we're met with visuals of dudes with ghostbuster backpacks and tubes coming out of their helmets!

Luckily we're soon greeted by more overtly humorous scenes. We can breathe a sigh of relief that we aren't going crazy. Ex-Special-Forces man turned hover-cab driver Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) is chilling in his apartment. He makes coffee out of a machine that looks like its buttons were taken off of Darth Vader's suit, smokes a cigarette that is 90% filter, and watches commercials on a cheap television screen with his cross-eyed cat. On exiting, he is greeted by a thug wearing a picture of the hallway on his head, one of my favorite scenes in the whole movie:



The characters and setting of this futurescape border on absurdity, but it's somehow still relatable if not believable. The absurd things we find in our own lives in pop culture, corporate brands, automation, and redundant technology are magnified and made ubiquitous in The Fifth Element. It's a riot to watch Korben Dallas wade through it all!



Enter Leeloo (Milla Jovovich). She falls into Korban's cab after escaping from a military facility that recently resurrected her (rebuilt via computer and DNA sequencing) from a ship destroyed by mean warrior aliens. She speaks a language unrecognizable by anyone, and is suddenly dependent on Korben to avoid recapture. She is smoking hot with her orange hair (already faded at the roots), and is still scantly wrapped in the "thermal bandages" from her resurrection. Korben makes a dash for it in his hover cab, dodging bullets from the burger-eating cops in Daft Punk helmets.



Elsewhere in the city, Mr. Zorg (above: Gary Oldman) and his corporate goons are meeting with the mean aliens from earlier. Apparently Zorg had commissioned the earlier attack on Leeloo's ship in order to recover some sacred stones related to the doomsday situation. The recovery did not go as planned, and the following discussion between Zorg and the aliens becomes one of the most iconic scenes in the film:



Adam Savage (from Mythbusters) also has an awesome video talking about and showcasing a model ZF1, the gun Zorg is selling.

I love how Zorg fearlessly slaps the warrior alien leader in the face to get his attention while patronizing them for not recovering the stones. All of the characters in this film, Korben, Leeloo, Zorg, the Priest, Ruby Rhod (Chris Tucker, shown below), and even the minor ones show astounding personality throughout every scene.



Film critic Roger Ebert praised The Fifth Element, but in his review mentioned there was a bit too much of the Ruby Rhod disc jockey character, and the film could have benefited from less Chris Tucker. I disagree with him here, I found Roby Rod a hilarious character. Unlike many other things, Ruby isn't just there to show more absurdity of the future. Ruby develops from a narcissistic and all-powerful pop star to a character that sheds his ego in light of the intense action and battle for humanity that begins to unfold. Well, by shedding his ego I mean he screams like a little girl!



Korben is re-enlisted by the special forces to travel to a resort on a luxurious space-cruiseliner. As the winner of a rigged contest, he is forced to endure the likes of Ruby Rhod while he looks out for a special contact: an alien singer that will be performing at an opera. He is with Leeloo still who has helped track down the meeting spot with this singer, who is here to deliver the sacred stones. Of course, the unfortunate priest who has been out of contact is also pursuing them in an attempt to stop the situation from spinning out of control. Zorg himself under threat from an evil force sends impersonators of Dallas and Leeloo, as do the warrior aliens that Zorg betrayed.



The greatest thing about this movie, and why I love it so much, is how many parties are coming together by the end. The situation becomes intensely chaotic. There are not just 2 sides here, there are like 5 or 6 in conflict or cooperation. Among the struggle and blaze of gunfire is comic relief at every turn. It's not all Korben doing the work either. Leeloo is strong. In an earlier scene when Korben was trying to explain a plan, she tells Korben not to worry. She is the Fifth Element, and she will protect him.



However, when Zorg loses patience and enters the fray himself, the story takes a turn towards being more serious. Leeloo is injured, and after catching up on the last 300 years of human history, she loses the will to fight after learning the history of modern warfare and genocide.



Our friends might be able to escape the doomed resort ship with their lives, but with a death-ball of evil only minutes away from destroying Earth, how would anyone save it when the supreme being is unwilling to fight for humanity anymore?



The Fifth Element is an amazing movie. It transforms our modern world into a surreal future, and sets off an astounding chain reaction of events. Every character and force rapidly crash together in one great climax. I'm laughing, I'm a bit tearful, my fists are clenched, and did I mention how hot Leeloo is?