Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

THE GIST: In the 28th century, thousands of civilizations coexist on Alpha, a space station/city freely floating in space, sharing knowledge and mixing cultures. The long-lasting peace and Alpha's continued existence, however, are being threatened by an unknown dark force, so Major Valerian and Sergeant Laureline are dispatched to solve the mystery and stop the attackers.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is a Luc Besson's brainchild, and it shows. Mesmerizing landscapes, gravity-defying action sequences, and cutting-edge visual effects all come together to tell a tale that's interesting, albeit not gripping.

Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne do a fairly good job, but somehow it feels more like they're playing a videogame than strive to make us believe they're saving the universe.

THE BOTTOM LINE: This is not a bad movie and the mystery is intriguing, but in the end it's really mostly fascinating to watch, since the aliens and worlds created are spellbinding.

Grade: 6.5