Sometimes one would like to drag one’s fellow human beings to the cinema by the nape of the neck. For example in Valerian – The City of a Thousand Planets. The unique sci-fi cracker from The Fifth Element master Luc Besson inspires beautiful scenes, mad love for the genre, lots of action and bold new ideas. Despite Oppenheimer actor Dane DeHaan and other stars, the film flopped terribly in the cinemas. It’s now on Netflix.
Netflix sci-fi flop was supposed to build whole universe – and flopped
Valerian is based on the comic book Valerian and Veronique by Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières. In the 28th century, human law enforcers like Valerian (DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) enforce law from the successor to the ISS. As a catastrophe wipes out an entire planet, let them see to it that things are right. And stumble straight into a large-scale conspiracy.
The sci-fi film is a completely insane spectacle, even by Besson’s standards. There are time travel. Invisible aliens. Limbs stuck in parallel dimensions. Rihanna as dancing aliens. Critics such as RogerEbert.com’s Peter Sobczynski raved about the film, calling it “happily daft“, but also wondered, “whether viewers give Valerian’s special charm a chance” would. No, they wouldn’t.
The expensive film flopped at the box office (via The Numbers). Since then it has become quiet around the universe of the sci-fi hit, which can be expanded at will thanks to its template. According to MovieWeb, Besson has completed a sequel screenplay years ago. But where there is hardly an audience, the sponsors will also be absent.
The 10 biggest streaming films of 2023 on Netflix, Amazon & Co.
In this installment of our Moviepilot podcast, Stream Browsing, we take a look at the big movies coming exclusively to Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and Apple TV+ this year. The result is a list of ten special recommendations.
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From the sci-fi epic to the potential Oscar nominee, everything is included. The talents gathered are particularly impressive. In 2023 we can expect new movies from Martin Scorsese, David Fincher and Zack Snyder in the streaming space, while Gal Gadot, Leonardo DiCaprio, Henry Cavill and Chris Hemsworth will be in front of the camera.
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