I Don't Remember "The Fifth Element" on the Periodic Table...

Hold on!

The Story:

The Fifth Element is the ultimate weapon against evil.  It saves Earth once, but it's getting too dangerous, and must leave the planet for safety.  Don't fear though, it will return to save the day in the future.

Welcome to the future!  The Fifth Element is on its way to save the day when tragedy strikes.  Scientists however are able to recreate the element in the form of LeeLoo (Milla Jovovich).  She escapes to try and complete her mission and is rescued by Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) former military, now cab driver.    It's up to Dallas to help LeeLoo save the planet from Evil, and evil's # 1 henchman, Mr. Zorg (Gary Oldman).  With a little luck from the clergy (Ian Holm)...it just might work!

I've got nothing but love for this film.

They had fun, but take the premise seriously...at least seriously enough.  : )  The tongue is never too far from the cheek as the situation dictates.

This is another Luc Besson masterpiece that he did double-duty on this time as both the writer and the director.

Gary Oldman runs around the movie as the scenery chewing bad guy, and he's just having a blast.

Bruce Willis plays to his strengths, the wisecracking hero who saves the day, and that's perfect for this film.

In fact, all of the supporting cast is enjoyable throughout the movie.  I suppose I should give special mention of course to Chris Tucker.

This was my first exposure to his work, and I would say that the first time I saw this film, I absolutely hated him.

Talk about annoying!

Then the years passed, and the Rush Hour series came along. 

Then I've come back to this film every once in awhile in the 16 years since it came out...

Does it trouble anyone else that all of these movies are getting up there in how old they are, or is it just me??!!

: )

Anyway, Tucker's annoying Ruby Rhod grew on me, and now I look forward to seeing him having a ball onscreen.

Naturally, you also can't overlook Jovovich's launch to movie stardom from this film.  She is a force of nature, and it has translated successfully to the Resident Evil franchise as well.

Movies like this are a perfect example of why I love movies.  It's a B movie that tries to entertain and have fun with itself, and it translates well to the audience.

I would imagine that many Sci-Fi purists might hate this film, but for this guy?

Works like a charm.

Final Grade: B+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I do own it, and again, it sees a spin every 3-4 years or so.

Good Movie. Disgusting Candy Bar..."The Three Musketeers"

Welcome to the 423rd retelling of the Dumas classic...

Give or take.

The Story:

The classic tale of Athos (Matthew Macfadyen), Porthos (Ray Stevenson) and Aramis (Luke Evans) meeting d'Artagnan (Logan Lerman) and rallying together to fight the evil forces of Cardinal Richelieu (Christoph Walz) has been filmed a few times and is well known by now.  

 

What could possibly be added that wasn't there before?

Flying airships?

Sold!!

So really, Dumas' classic gets skewered and changed around haphazardly with every iteration so that each of the characters often ends up doing something that their counterpart actually did... blah blah blah... you get the idea.  Regardless of the telling, the 4 end up fighting together and saving the day, that part normally remains intact.

Filling out the star-studded cast is Milady (Milla Jovovich) and the Duke (Orlando Bloom) among others.

The costumes, set designs and action sequences make it a period piece with a sense of action and adventure instead of a rigid history lesson designed to lull you to sleep.

How well does it stack up against the rest of the filmed versions?  Again, this will be entirely dependent on your love of flying airships.  :)  Or, your enjoyment of the story, or the other versions that have been filmed.  Until this point, the only other version I've endured more than once has been the Disney version with Sheen, Sutherland, O'Donnell and Platt.

A key part of the film centers around DaVinci's blueprint for a flying ship, equipped with cannons galore.  While highly improbable, it does make for a fun final act of the film.

I watched this one, it kept me entertained, that's good enough for me.

Final Grade: B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: If it played again, I could certainly watch it.  Don't know that I'll rush out to buy it though.