Ironically, the film was criticized for both being too weird and not weird enough. For all its conceptual brilliance, the plot beats—the destroyed alien paradise, the young hero, the mystical creature—drew constant comparisons to Avatar and Star Wars . In the summer of 2017, “franchise fatigue” was a major topic, yet audiences flocked to known quantities like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and avoided the alien oddity that lacked a pre-existing brand.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets faced an uphill battle upon its July 2017 release. Grossing roughly $225 million worldwide against its massive budget, the film struggled to turn a profit during its initial theatrical window, largely due to stiff competition from established franchises and a divided critical reception. Why Critics Were Divided
The narrative core of the movie centers on , the titular "City of a Thousand Planets". The opening montage—tracked beautifully to David Bowie's "Space Oddity"—chronicles the real-world Apollo-Soyuz space station docking of 1975, expanding incrementally across centuries as human modules link with increasingly bizarre alien vessels. Eventually outgrowing Earth's orbit, this floating geopolitical marvel drifts into deep space, transforming into a sprawling, multi-species metropolis. Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets - E...
The supporting cast is equally impressive, with standout performances from Clive Owen as the villainous Emperor Nefarious and Rihanna as the enigmatic Supreme Leader. The film's diverse cast brings a sense of authenticity to the universe, with a range of cultures and species represented.
The core achievement of Valerian lies in its staggering worldbuilding. The film introduces us to Alpha, a sprawling, ever-growing space station where thousands of different species from all corners of the universe live together to share knowledge, culture, and technology. Ironically, the film was criticized for both being
One of the most heavily debated aspects of the film is its central casting:
The brilliance of the "E" sequence is also its curse. It sets an emotional and conceptual bar that the actual plot—a generic rescue mission involving stolen converters and a rogue commander—cannot reach. The opening promises a documentary of a living ecosystem; the film delivers a buddy-cop actioner. 2 and avoided the alien oddity that lacked
: Special operatives Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are tasked with retrieving a "Mül converter"—the last of its kind—and uncovering a dark conspiracy threatening the heart of Alpha. A Visual Triumph : The film features over 2,700 VFX shots