Nine Years On, Valerian Still Looks Like the Future — and the Money Pit That Broke Luc Besson

Luc Besson’s Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is a film about scale that never quite finds its center. With a budget of $170 million, it is built to dazzle, and for stretches it does. But the spectacle is not enough to carry a story that is thin on stakes and thinner on character.

The film follows Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne), agents of the Terran Federation who travel through space to mediate conflicts between alien species. They land on Alpha, a city built on a giant ship that orbits multiple planets simultaneously, and find themselves caught up in a plot involving a powerful drug and a villain named Krall (Clive Owen). The premise is ambitious, but the execution keeps losing focus.

Trailer, via Rotten Tomatoes Trailers.

The Visuals Are the Star

The production design is the film’s strongest asset. Alpha is a marvel of neon architecture, floating buildings, and interconnected walkways. The sequences set there feel lived-in and imaginative, and they are the moments the film earns its price tag. The special effects are polished, and the city itself becomes a character of sorts, full of life and wonder.

But the visuals are also the film’s problem. With so much money spent on scenery, the story feels like it was written around the sets rather than the other way around. The plot is episodic, moving from one set piece to the next without much connecting tissue.

DeHaan and Delevingne Struggle

Dane DeHaan plays Valerian with a stiff, earnest charm that never quite lands. He is a blank slate of competence, and the film leans on him being handsome rather than giving him much to do. Cara Delevingne fares slightly better as Laureline, bringing a spark of curiosity to her role, but neither actor gets the material they need to shine.

Clive Owen shows up late in the film as the villain, and he brings a sneering menace to the role. But his entrance is so late that his threat feels tacked on rather than woven into the fabric of the story.

The Plot Doesn’t Hold Together

The central conflict involves a drug that can manipulate reality, and the Terran Federation’s efforts to stop it from falling into the wrong hands. That sounds like the seed of a rich sci-fi thriller, but the script never digs deep enough to make it matter. Characters speak in exposition-heavy dialogue that explains the situation rather than showing it.

There is also a subplot involving a young girl named Sita (Rihanna) who has the power to see visions of the future. Her scenes are meant to build tension, but they arrive too late in the film to earn their weight.

Rihanna’s Performance Is Underused

Rihanna makes a surprising debut as an actress, playing Sita with a quiet intensity that suits the role. She is clearly trying, and she has the presence to carry a scene. But the script gives her little to work with, and her performance is buried beneath the film’s larger ambitions.

What Works

Despite the flaws, there are moments that stick. The action sequences are well-choreographed, and the film knows how to stage a fight in zero gravity. The emotional beats between Valerian and Laureline are sincere, even if they are not particularly original.

The film also benefits from a strong supporting cast. Ethan Hawke plays Commander Arca, a mentor figure who provides some of the few grounded moments in the film. His scenes with DeHaan are the best of the movie, even if they are limited in scope.

Ranking the Elements

1. Production design — the standout element, with Alpha feeling lived-in and imaginative
2. Rihanna’s performance — quiet intensity, but underused
3. Action sequences — well-choreographed and effective in zero gravity
4. Supporting cast — especially Ethan Hawke’s Commander Arca
5. Main performances — DeHaan and Delevingne struggle with thin material
6. Plot — episodic, with late-arriving tension that doesn’t land

The Verdict

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is a beautiful failure. It is a film that looks like it cost a fortune and sounds like it cost a fortune, but it never quite delivers on its promise. The ideas are there, and the ambition is visible, but the execution falls short at almost every turn.

The film scores 5.1 out of 10.

Cara Delevingne · Dane DeHaan · Luc Besson · movie review · Valerian