Top 10 Takeaways From the Dubai Premiere of ‘Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets’

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets premiered on Thursday, 20 July, in the United Arab Emirates to packed audiences. Earlier this year, it was reported that Dubai-based company Gulf Film had launched a production arm, Novo Pictures, which was already working with Luc Besson on Valerian.

It’s no wonder then that the sci-fi film commandeered the majority of the screens in Dubai’s Novo Cinemas, dislodging previous summer comic book favorites Wonder Woman and Spider-Man: Homecoming.

In attendance at one of the theatres was the French director himself. Despite a hectic promotional tour that has seen Besson fly to Los Angeles, Germany and Dubai in the span of three days, the beloved auteur seemed up to the challenge of geeing up the audience in the chock-a-block theatre.

The film, based on the classic French comic series, Valérian and Laureline by writer Pierre Christin and artist Jean Claude Mézières, stars Dane De Haan (The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Chronicle) as the titular Major Valerian and Cara Delevingne (#SuicideSquad) as his partner Sergeant Laureline on a mission to uncover a deadly power threatening to destroy the ‘city’ of Alpha, home to species from a thousand planets.

While the duo discovered uncomfortable truths about their universe and themselves, the audience discovered plenty more. Here are my Top 10 takeaways from the premiere of the film.

10. National Pride

Luc Besson’s body of directorial work transcends convention. It’s no wonder, then, that the French and Francophone community were out in full force for the film’s screening. You couldn’t turn one corner without hearing someone speaking in French. The excitement was palpable. When Besson walked into the theatre, the crowd erupted into thunderous applause and loud salutations in his native language.

While the stars of the film weren't in attendance, they did film a quick message for the fans. Besson, however, was on hand to answer some quick questions from the audience before the start of the film.

It is refreshing to see, for once, someone other than the film’s stars at the forefront of a promotional tour. If anything, it feels like Besson has been in the spotlight during the Valerian promos far more than the actors. Despite his curtailed stay in Dubai, Besson left a lasting impression on the audience as he unleashed some excellent advice and some cutting humour. It is no wonder then that he has taken centre stage in promoting the film.

9. A Filmmaker's Journey

An enthusiastic, young audience member asked Besson to share some advice for aspiring filmmakers. ‘New filmmakers are very lucky,’ Besson answered. When he began his career in film-making, Besson had to use a reel of 35mm camera film that could capture only three minutes of video. With no sound; and there was no way to add music. He would then have to send it to England to be produced, and would receive a reply only six months later. This is a far cry from how today’s industry works. As he said, now we have little computers in our hands and we can video anything, anywhere. New filmmakers also have the benefits of advanced software like Final Cut Pro to easily make their final product look good. ‘Be creative and make films,’ was his final piece of advice.

8. The Long And Winding Road To Alpha

The first Valérian and Laureline comic was published in 1967, and the series continued up until 2010. It remains a significant part of European comics and in the year of its 50th anniversary, the film brings this series to a global audience. By casting familiar Hollywood stars and filming the story in English, Besson opens his childhood favourite up to the world.

The director mentioned that he first came across the series when he was 10. ‘And it stayed with me for a long time.’ Seven years ago, (coincidentally around the same time the series ended) he decided to make it into a film, and two years later he began work on it; a true labour of love if ever there was one. ‘It took me seven years to make; and 2000 people worked on it. And in two hours it will finish,’ he told the audience with a smirk.

The film is considered to be France and Europe’s most expensive film. Besson’s 1997 film The Fifth Element was once the most expensive film made in France, but this film significantly surpasses that budget. It is evident that Besson was not interested in pulling any stops on making the adaptation as spectacular as its comic book originators. With the benefit of today’s CGI and technology, he certainly achieves that.

7. Repeat Song One

Despite it being an exclusive access show, there was plenty of waiting around, and even more queuing before the film began. Dubai loves to celebrate its international efforts, and with its ever-growing impact on global cinema, there is no denying the need to rejoice.

The UAE has been the favoured location for many big-budget films off late, including Fast and Furious 6, Star Trek Beyond and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. There was plenty of fanfare when these films premiered, as well.

Valerian’s celebration, however, was unusual given that Novo Cinemas’ management (who also own Novo Pictures) went all out in reminding us exactly which film we were heading into. Not only did all the displays showcase only this film, but it didn’t take me long to realise that the song playing in the background (muffled by the chatter of the crowd) was the same one throughout. Alexiane’s A Million on My Soul end credits song is delightful, albeit a little over-produced, but it fits the adaptation perfectly. But even the most ardent fan would like some warning before being subject to it for a whole 45 minutes! And that was just when we were waiting to get into the theatre. Once inside, we were seated and had to endure the song for another 30 minutes. Now, unlike most songs, I can conjure A Million On My Soul to mind without much effort. I cannot tell if that’s a good thing or not. Listen to song below, courtesy Alexiane's vevo.

And now, on to the film. Mild spoilers ahead.

6. Archaic Storytelling

10 minutes into the film and you can tell that the source material is from a different time. The two leads playfully fight each other while Valerian professes his true, undying love for Laureline. She is the one person who is likely to change his atypical playboy ways.

Watching it, I recalled ‘80s TV shows like Remington Steele and Moonlighting, where this kind of romantic storyline would not be amiss. It doesn’t fit with modern storytelling, especially not one set in the 28th century.

Hollywood has long struggled with showcasing professionalism in their characters. Just because characters are getting the job done, doesn’t mean they’re doing it right – or behaving in the correct manner either. The title characters in this film suffer egregiously from a lack of professionalism, not least with each other. Given that Valerian is technically Laureline’s superior officer, his romantic feelings for her (reciprocated or not) tend to feel more icky than sweet.

The seeming lack of professionalism goes beyond the two main characters, however. The film feels derivative of sci-fi films gone before. Granted, the source material inspired many Hollywood blockbusters (Star Wars included, apparently), but the film needed to rise above that to feel new and fresh. It doesn’t. Too many scenes feel like throwbacks to classics that, at times, you feel like accusing it of being a rip-off! I’m sure that was not Besson’s intention.

5. Bloated Plotlines

Besson’s ambition for this project has to be admired. Working off source material loved by Europeans but unknown to global audiences means introducing characters and a universe with a wealth of background stories that are unfamiliar but which will pique the interest of the uninitiated.

Unfortunately, Besson is unable to balance the fine line between mystery and exposition. The end result is that we spend too much time on certain sub-plots, while others are shoe-horned in at the end. And the ones that see the least screen time just happen to be the most integral to the plot. Unnecessary time is spent introducing characters who we will never see again, while the twists in the tale are squeezed into one expository monologue.

The expository writing is what harms the overall enjoyment of the film the most. Be it an AI’s explanation of the state of Alpha to two residents of the city itself, or the bad guy revelation which we see coming from a mile away, there is little for audiences to deduce or interpret.

What is worse is, Besson somehow finds reason to include the same plot details not once, but twice in the film, instead of structuring the narrative in a clear-cut fashion.

4. Poor Casting

Casting is a hard and a thankless job. Get it right and you receive no acknowledgement; get it wrong and you are pilloried. But many casting directors’ hands are tied by the studio’s requirements, and looking at the cast of this film, I wonder if that could be the case.

I am all for seeing fresh new faces headline summer blockbusters, and while Dehaan and Delevingne have starred in ensemble blockbusters, they’re hardly at the forefront of these projects. Unfortunately, this film proves why. Dehaan is too quirky to pull off such a character. He can act (or so people say) and I felt he was passable in the comedic scenes, but for the most part, he has no screen presence and seems to be sleep-walking through his delivery. Delevingne tries hard, but she has a long way to go before establishing her acting skills. She is far too expressionless to take seriously. Add to that, the duo has zero chemistry, which makes their on-screen flirtation boring and superfluous.

Clive Owen, who plays the mysterious Commander Arun Filitt, is one-toned during his curtailed screen time. He has no charisma and we hardly miss him when he’s off screen. Worryingly, the actor doesn’t attempt to hide the character’s true nature, which makes the film’s storyline fall flat on its face.

#Rihanna is perhaps the film’s biggest name, but she too needs to work on her acting. She simpers through her scenes with little expression, and only ever comes alive when she is hidden by CGI. I understand why the director would have wanted her cast in the film, but it does neither the character nor the viewer any justice if the dialogue is stilted.

Most of the main cast is full of forgettable, yet familiar faces, all of whom seem as surprised as the audience to find themselves in the film.

3. Laureline

The comic series is titled Valerian AND Laureline; she is considered an equal partner in the missions. The Atlantic’s Gabrielle Bellot wrote a striking piece about the importance of Laureline in sci-fi history, but the film appears to have failed the character.

I haven’t read the comics, but I feel the casting of Delevingne suggests the director was interested more in the appeal of Laureline than the character as a whole – a little like Megan Fox in Michael Bay’s Transformers trilogy. While Laureline’s intellect is unquestionably at the forefront in the film, she gets few opportunities to use it. The overall impression is that she must be under the thumb of Valerian, her superior officer. Also, and this ties into the archaic storytelling Besson employs, Laureline must also be a damsel-in-distress in need of rescuing, and a background character to Valerian’s story.

I’m not saying Laureline isn’t a step up from many female heroes of the past, but she falls into far too many tropes. Tropes that female fans were hoping Hollywood had shunned, but which claw their way back all the time. Laureline is shown studying a creature, but must speak to it as coquettishly as possible – it doesn’t understand a word you’re saying, speak to it like a scientist would. That’s what Rey, #WonderWoman and Furiosa would do, and it’s the least viewers expect.

Throughout, Laureline felt like a step backwards for geekdom’s women. This is 2017, we shouldn’t need to worry about this.

2. A Visual Spectacle

Let’s back up from all the negativity and appreciate the film’s greatest asset – it’s visuals. The premiere I attended was at an #IMAX with comfortable 3D glasses, which the bespectacled among us could easily place over our glasses.

The comfort of the experience enabled the audience to immerse themselves into the film. There is no other way to define the graphics and imagination on display than as a visual spectacle. From the interiors of ships, to the detailed locations on Alpha and the serene beauty of Mul, the film is magical to watch.

There is a healthy dose of retro-steampunk technology thrown in to aid the plot and change up the overall CGI feel of the film. Who can complain about a little steampunk?

Many of the visuals, especially the Alpha command centre, hark back to the look and feel of The Fifth Element, which I’m sure will make many fans rejoice.

Had Besson created and stuck to the rules of his world, the CGI would not have felt so gimmicky. Alas, we don't get that. Instead, one of the earlier space sequences includes a #MillenniumFalcon copy attempting to squeeze through a tunnel while being shot at. Ummm… so original!

1. Token Diversity

#Diversity in Hollywood is a subject very close to my heart. The conversation about diversity has gathered steam over the past few years, but the struggle to achieve it remains. I had written about Spider-Man: Homecoming’s attempt to showcase an inclusive society, a valiant attempt that falls short of its aims, but at least it tried.

Valerian, on the other hand, only pays lip service to diversity in its treatment of characters of colour and different genders. This is a problem. The opening sequence that sets up Alpha sees generations of humans (always three in number) greeting a multitude of aliens and welcoming them onboard their new home. This was a delightful montage, except for the fact that the ‘Commander’ was always a white man. Each and every single one of them.

The main characters are also all white. The only people of colour integral to the plot were Herbie Hancock’s Defence Minister and Kris Wu’s Sergeant Neza. Wu even gets to keep his accent, which was a welcome change from all the American and British accents on show. But that is not enough. Would it have been so hard to shake up the casting a bit?

Considering the fact that Owen’s character’s name is Arun – a legitimate Indian name – couldn’t we have had an Indian actor in his place? How about a woman as General Okto-Bar? A transgender actor in the lead, perhaps? It cannot still be that hard to take a leap of faith and try something different. Dehaan and Delevingne do not exactly scream blockbuster leads, so if you’re going to try your luck with non-A-listers, go the whole hog and get someone really out of the box.

Looking through the cast list, I’m happy to see many French actors were in the film, but French itself is absent from the film. We hear other languages over loudspeakers, but it feels like a token effort. TV’s The Expanse already did that, and they have done a better job with visible diversity, unlike this film.

Even the most important aliens are played by white actors. And what is seriously bothersome is that Emperor Haban-Limaï, a very obviously male character, is played by two women. Why couldn’t the Emperor just have been a woman? Why stick to conventional characterisations when it is the 21st century?

And no, adding Rihanna as a pole-dancing stripper fantasy does not count as diversity. Why is that scene even in this film?

Conclusion

The film has already received mixed reviews, and I am surprised. How has it not been universally panned already? If that sounds harsh, it isn’t. Valerian gave me John Carter vibes, and no one gave that film a chance. John Carter had problems, and its antiquated adherence to its source material it was one of them, but at least it was action-packed and fun. This one isn’t even that. Two action sequences on either end of the screen time are padded with overstuffed exposition and garbled missions.

I wanted to like this film, but judging by the trailers I had a feeling it was not meant to be. The final product has proven me right. Despite the director’s unbridled excitement when opening the film for us, the applause at the end was minimal and hesitant. Perhaps my own view coloured my perception of the audience’s reaction, but most people ran out as soon as the credits began to roll. As did I.

I hope there won’t be a sequel to this disaster, because geeks deserve better. Especially non-white, gender-diverse geeks. To end on a high note, read USA Today’s selection of the best takedowns of the film. We all deserve a chuckle after sitting through this hunk of junk.