Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets - E... Jun 2026

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) is a visually ambitious space opera directed by Luc Besson, adapted from the long-running French comic series Valérian and Laureline . Set in the 28th century, it follows special operatives Major Valerian and Sergeant Laureline as they investigate a mysterious "dark force" at the heart of Alpha, a massive, ever-expanding space station inhabited by millions of beings from across the universe.

The chemistry and casting of the two leads remain the most heavily debated aspects of the film:

While it divided critics and struggled to find a massive audience at the global box office, the film has earned a dedicated cult following. Its breathtaking world-building, boundary-pushing visual effects, and unapologetic eccentricity offer a stark contrast to the formulaic nature of modern Hollywood blockbusters. The Roots of Alpha: From Comic Page to Silver Screen Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets - E...

The film is celebrated for its imaginative alien designs and vibrant color palettes. Key locations include:

Characterization and Performance Valerian and Laureline are written as a classic odd-couple pairing: Valerian is impulsive and romantically fixated, Laureline is pragmatic and morally grounded. DeHaan’s performance leans into Valerian’s vanity and insecurity, while Delevingne brings a laconic cool to Laureline. Their chemistry has moments of genuine spark, but the screenplay’s heavy reliance on quips and action beats constrains deeper emotional engagement. Secondary characters—comic-relief sidekicks, bureaucratic villains, and tragic natives—are vividly designed but frequently feel like set dressing rather than fully realized agents within the story. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

When Luc Besson released Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets in 2017, it wasn't just another summer blockbuster; it was the culmination of a lifelong dream. Based on the influential French comic series Valérian and Laureline by Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières—the same source material that inspired Star Wars —the film is a breathtaking, messy, and utterly unique piece of cinema. The Visual Spectacle of Alpha

For years, Besson harbored the desire to adapt the property but found himself bottlenecked by the limitations of practical effects. It wasn't until James Cameron released Avatar in 2009 that Besson realized computer-generated imagery had finally evolved enough to properly depict the complex alien biomes of the source material. it serves as a shimmering

However, time has a way of smoothing the edges of box office failures. Years later, removed from the hype cycle and the financial context, Valerian emerges not as a catastrophe, but as a fascinating artifact of pure, unadulterated imagination. It is a "magnificent failure"—a film that reaches for the stars, grasps them firmly in its visual design, but stumbles in the chemistry of its human elements.

Ultimately, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets stands as a fascinating artifact of 21st-century blockbuster filmmaking. It demonstrates how advanced visual effects can realize any conceivable world, yet proves that spectacle without soul is hollow. The film’s creative triumph is Alpha itself—a hopeful, diverse, living city that deserves to be explored in a more grounded story. Its failure is its human (and humanoid) drama. For fans of production design and alien ecology, the film is an essential reference. For those seeking a compelling sci-fi adventure, it serves as a shimmering, hollow reminder that even the most beautiful city feels empty when you don’t care about the people walking through it.

To create a more immersive experience, a range of sound design elements were incorporated, including: