I have seen The Fifth Element several times since the first time I rented it. I liked the movie the first time I saw it. This movie is now part of my DVD collection.

PLOT

The movie began in the past, around 1914. The setting was an archaeological site in Egypt. A professor was inside examining the walls. Luke Perry had a small role in this part as the man the professor hired to sketch everything inside the site. A priest arrived and tried to get the professor to leave. He was close to discovering something he shouldn't. A spaceship landed outside and several huge, hulking aliens entered the site. They moved very slowly. It lookd like they were wearing some kind of suits of armor. One of the aliens told the priest that the stones and the fifth element were no longer safe on Earth. They will bring them back when the evil returns.

The movie jumped forward about 300 years. Korben Dallas was shown in his very small apartment in New York. He was a cab driver. His cab flied and talked. It was always reminding him that he only had a few points left on his driver's license. He headed out to start his day at work.

Meanwhile, some spaceships encountered something strange. It was this huge black ball. They don't know what it was. They fire missiles at it, but that causes the ball to grow bigger. This was the evil returning to destroy the Earth. Cornelius, a priest, had a meeting with the President and explained what was going on. The aliens from the beginning of the movie were returning with the stones and the fifth element. Their ship was attacked by other aliens, the Mangalores. There was only one survivor.

Leeloo was the only survivor of the attack. She had to go through a reconstruction process after the attack. Once she woke up from that, she was very confused and didn't know what was going on. She couldn't speak or understand English. She met Korben when she fell through the roof of his cab. His cab immediately started telling him that he just had an accident and he only had one point left on his license. Leeloo started talking in her language and of course Korben had no clue what she was saying. He did end up running from the police that were after her. He took Leeloo to Cornelius and eventually ended up helping her save the world.

The Mangalores had a meeting with the man that hired them, Zorg. He was an extremely wealthy man that owned several large companies. He was evil. He was working with the evil thing that was coming to the Earth. He was determined to get the stones so they couldn't be used to defeat the evil.

Korben, Leeloo - who learned English thanks to a computer program - and Cornelius try to save the world. Ruby Rhod, a radio show host they encountered later in the movie, ended up going along with them. There were fights, shoot outs, and explosions before the movie ended.

CAST

Bruce Willis - Korben Dallas
Milla Jovovitch - Leeloo
Gary Oldman - Zorg
Ian Holm - Cornelius
Chris Tucker - Ruby Rhod

Luc Besson - Director and screenwriter

The Fifth Element was made in 1997 and was 126 minutes long. The movie was rated PG-13 for some sci-fi violence, sexuality, and brief nudity. The movie was set in the future and had a lot of special effects. I don’t think this is a movie for young children to watch, but it could be ok for older children to watch. Parents should watch the movie themselves to make a final decision before letting their children watch the movie.

I have enjoyed The Fifth Element every time I’ve seen it over the years. The movie was a bit different, but I found it entertaining. It isn’t a serious, realistic movie, though there were a few serious moments in the movie. A lot of things happened in the movie that could never happen in real life - at least I hope they could never happen. This is a movie to watch just for entertainment. The plot was original and kept my interest throughout. I wasn’t bored at any time when watching the movie.

There was a lot of action throughout The Fifth Element. There were some chases with the flying cars. I liked the flying cars, though I don’t think I’d want to be driving in that traffic. There was one or two car crashes. There were some explosions at different times in the movie. There was a huge shootout near the end of the movie. Many people and different types of aliens were hurt in that shoot out. Several were killed. There were a few fights in the movie too. There was violence throughout the movie, but I have seen some movies that have been more violent. The movie could be too violent for some people. There were a few scenes that were a little gross.

Korben was attracted to Leeloo when he first met her. He had feelings for her and wanted to protect her. They did become close and were intimate. Their relationship provided a little bit of romance for The Fifth Element, but that wasn’t the main focus of the movie. There was a little bit of skin shown in a few scenes, but there wasn’t really any nudity in the movie.


The Fifth Element had some wonderful futuristic looking settings. There were several different spaceships and flying cars shown throughout the movie. There were futuristic weapons. These things added so much to the movie. There were some very interesting costumes and hairstyles in the movie. Most of the costumes had very bright colors. Seeing Bruce Willis with blonde hair was a bit strange at first, but I got use to it. Leeloo's bright orange hair was very shocking at first - and so was her barely there outfit - but I got use to it too. She did get some different clothes a bit later in the movie.


There were special effects used throughout The Fifth Element. There were futuristic cars and weapons that I’m sure had to be created with special effects. There were explosions and space ships. I thought the special effects were very good. I know that some things had to be done with special effects - like the flying cars - but I think the effects worked really well in the movie. There were also some very unique looking aliens that showed up in different parts of the movie. I’m not sure if they were done with CGI or make up. However they were made, they were well done.

CHARACTERS

This movie had an interesting mix of characters. Some of them were strange looking, but nice aliens. Some were strange looking, ugly, shape shifting nasty aliens - the Mangalores.

Korben Dallas was one of the main characters in the movie. He was the hero. He was reluctant to get involved at first, but he was convinced and he used his own unique style of negotiating later on in the movie. Korben was a former military man who was now a cab driver. Judging by the very few points left on his license, he didn't have that good of a driving record.

Leeloo was traveling with the friendly aliens back to Earth with the stones. It was her responsibility to get them back to the site in Egypt so they could be used to defeat the evil. During the course of the movie Leeloo learned about the history of Earth and how to speak English. She appeared very vulnerable at times, but proved she can take care of herself near the end of the movie when she fought the Mangalores.

Cornelius was a priest. The knowledge about the stones, fifth element, and the evil had been passed down from priest to priest over the years. Cornelius was Leeloo's contact on Earth. Cornelius was a kind likable character. He got flustered at times, and appeared to be a bit bumbling at times too. He and his young apprentice helped Leeloo and Korben save the world. He had some very funny scenes in the movie.

Zorg was the bad guy in this movie. He was extremely rich and loveed technology. He likeed creating trouble and messes. He walked with a limp and had a rather strange hair do. He thought nothing of back stabbing people he previously had an agreement with.

Ruby Rhod was the most unique character in the movie. He was a radio show host that got mixed up in the quest to save the world - you'll have to watch the movie to see how he got involved. He was loud and over the top. He wore some of the strangest outfits in the movie. His hair was very unique too. It changed a few times in the movie. It was a different color and different style each time. He didn't just walk, he had this strut. He was hilarious. He made some of the funniest faces. His eyes were bulging at times. So much so that it looked like they were going to pop right out of his head. At times he acted a bit like a diva, expecting everyone to jump to do what he wanted. He seemed to have a way with women. They all loved him. Chris Tucker was terrific in this role. He stole the scenes he was in. Ruby ended up in the middle of a huge battle. Bullets were flying, things were blowing up all around him. He started screaming his head off. It was so funny. He was my favorite character in the movie. Not everyone will like this character. His voice was a bit high and loud. So it will grate on some people's nerves like fingernails on a chalkboard. The evil thing that was coming to the Earth was shown as a large black ball. There were small fire bursts all over the surface of the ball. It grew when it was attacked by missiles. It kept growing bigger. The only thing that could destroy it was the weapon made by the 4 stones and the fifth element.

There were also several other supporting characters in The Fifth Element. The kind friendly aliens that protected the stones and the fifth element were in a few scenes of the movie. The president and some military people showed up in different scenes throughout the movie. Korben's mother was only heard over the phone a few times. A doctor that was in charge of the reconstruction of Leeloo turned up once or twice. Some people who worked for Zorg showed up in some scenes doing Zorg’s dirty work. Ruby Rhod's entourage followed Ruby almost everywhere he went. An opera diva with a beautiful voice turned up in a few scenes. Those characters were so briefly in the movie that they weren’t that developed, though one of them played an important part in the plot.

The DVD of The Fifth Element didn't have any extras on it. No behind the scenes stuff on how The Fifth Element was made. Nothing about the special effects. No deleted scenes. It did have the widescreen and full screen versions of the movie. It also had scene selections. That was it for extras.

The Fifth Element was a great movie. It had lots of action, some comedy, and a bit of romance. If you like Bruce Willis or action movies it is worth seeing.



Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older