The Fifth Element (1997)

Elevator Pitch: The world is protected from an intergalactic evil, which approaches every 5000 years, by a collection of stones and “The Fifth Element”, a being, which must be assembled in a desert temple, by the priests of a secret society. A scantily clad young woman crashes through the roof of a New York taxi in 2263, and asks to be taken to Cornelius, who we learn is the priest of the stones, and thereafter the driver, Korben Dallas, the woman, Leeloo and the priest embark on a mission to save the world.

Content: The young woman is assembled from the remains of the Fifth Element and is seen briefly naked. The protagonists embark on a space shuttle with an effeminite talk show host who appears to engage in oral sex with at least one of the air hostesses. The protector of the stones, an alien opera singer, sings, but the event is attacked by the Mangalores, alien mercenaries who are trying to obtain the stones on behalf of Zorg, the Evil’s representative on earth. There is a masive battle with all sorts of weapons ending an enormous explosion, but Korben et al escape to save the earth.

A View: This is the second time I have reviewed this outing, and I did not do it justice the first time. It is really fun stuff, well liked by nearly everybody when it came out, and ongoingly to today. I recently said I was looking for a good Bruce Willis film, and in this I found one; everyone does a great job, even Gary Oldman who said he hated the whole thing. So if you enjoy a bit of lighthearted SF look no further. Well worth the cost of a download.

Additional Info: All the costumes were designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier, one jacket apparently costing $5000.